There Are (no) Dead Ends
by Fieryflowers
Summary: It is said that when your parents die, you lose your past. When your spouse dies, you lose your present. And when your child dies, you lose your future. However, when your sibling dies, you lose your past, present, and future. [AU where Hiro dies and Tadashi forms the superhero team]
1. Five Stages: Denial

**Summary: **The explosion didn't happen immediately after Tadashi ran into the building. However, the fire claimed a different Hamada.

**Notes:** Tadashi's grief and how he dealt with personal loss is different compared to Hiro's in the movie, so expect some moments where he acts like a jerk sometimes. Don't worry, he will get better soon.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

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><p><em>"Tadashi, no!"<em>

_"Callaghan is in there. **Someone** has to help." _

That's what Tadashi told him before Hiro watched his brave, selfless older brother disappear into the building.

Hiro couldn't bear to stand by helplessly, panicking and wondering if his brother, best friend, and his entire world would ever come out safe. He picked up Tadashi's cap, his mind is made up. He will not lose his brother like this.

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><p>It was an inferno inside the showcase hall, and it was difficult to see through the rising-orange flames while the smoke filled his lungs. Yet Tadashi had to find Professor Callaghan. However, it became too dangerous for him to go any further and Tadashi was forced to make a painful decision; there is no way he can save his teacher and get them out together in time. The fire is too powerful.<p>

Tadashi withdrew quickly and flung himself outside where he is finally safe. Guilt began to eat up inside him, he has failed to save the professor. He hoped the fire department was immediately called so they can try to rescue him in time. There is a crowd gathering nearby, they watch in horror as the flames eat up the building. The robotics engineering student scanned around, looking for his little brother who was supposed to be waiting for him.

"Hiro?" he called out. "Hiro?!_ Has anyone seen my brother?!"_

A student hurried over towards him. He was holding Hiro's hoodie jacket. Tadashi grabbed him, panic began to rise in his chest. "Why do you have that? Where's my brother?!"

The student's face turned pale. "After you went in to save Callaghan, your kid brother got so worried for you. I tried to stop him, but…"

Tadashi's heart sank and his blood turned to ice. He was about to hurry back inside the hall when a deafening boom knocked him to the ground. The building has exploded.

Tadashi could only scream as the fire engulfed the entire entrance.

_**"HIRO...!"**_

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><p>Tadashi retreated to his room after everyone has gone home and gave him their condolences. But they were cold and empty to him, he couldn't feel anything at all during the funeral.<p>

As he removed his coat, he saw his brother's swivel chair facing the computer. It seemed like yesterday he caught Hiro surfing online for botfights right after they came home from going jail. It was also that same night he got Hiro interested to apply for SFIT.

He still couldn't believe his brother is taken away from him in a flash of fire and light. _No. He refused to believe it._ He always hanged on to that tiniest hope that that his brother somehow has survived and is just recovering in a hospital somewhere. Probably waiting for Tadashi to get him, and when he gets better, both Hamada boys could attend SFIT together and create world-changing inventions together just like both brothers always dreamed of.

A small part of Tadashi wondered if he should have kept his mouth shut that night. He should have just driven Hiro to another bot fight like his brother wanted; if he didn't bring Hiro to that college, he would never build the microbots, attend the showcase, and…

Tadashi walked over to Hiro's chair and spin it around. He expected to see his little brother's snarky, guilty expression. There was nothing.

Hiro is gone.

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><p>"Are you sure you're ready to go back to SFIT, Tadashi?" Aunt Cass gently asked him before he walked out of the cafe. "It's been three days, it's okay to stay home if you want."<p>

Tadashi gave her a small cheerful smile. It was forced, but he didn't want to worry her. "I'll be alright, Aunt Cass," he said. "I'll see you later~"

"Okay, then. If you need me, you can always call—" She didn't manage to finish her words, her nephew has already left.

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><p>Tadashi's friends were surprised to see him walking into the campus as well.<p>

"Are you really okay, Tadashi? We're so worried about you," Honey said. She placed a soft hand on his shoulder, but the inventor shrugged it off.

Tadashi just nodded. "Of course, I am. It still hurts that Hiro's gone…" He paused and stared at the ground. His lips then form into a hopeful smile.

"But Hiro isn't really gone, as long as we remember him, right? He wouldn't want me moping around forever."

Fred grinned and wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulder. "We're proud of you for being brave, man. We promise not to forget your little bro, and we'll be here to support ya! Oh, this school mascot has been working on some new spinning moves, you have to see them…"

"Oh no," Wasabi groaned. "Is this really the right time?"

Gogo just looked at Tadashi without saying a word. Tadashi doesn't know what she's thinking, and it's beginning to annoy him a little. However, this will not ruin his day and he's going to face it head-on.

"Alrighty, let's get going—" Tadashi spoke up but he was interrupted by Wasabi.

"Hey look, Tadashi. It's the memorial the other students set up."

Tadashi stopped and stared the memorial at the entrance of SFIT. There are two photographs, one for Professor Callaghan and one for Hiro Hamada. The pictures were surrounded by candles and flowers that were set there by students. Tadashi slowly approached the memorial and stared at his brother's picture. Hiro's face and his toothy smile radiated like sunshine, yet it was lifeless like a shadow.

Tadashi's chest tightened but he swallowed back his sobs. Without another word, he marched into the campus without looking back. Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, and Fred were left behind as they watched him go, their faces fell with sadness.

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><p>He couldn't concentrate on his classes today. As much as he tried to pay attention to the lessons, Tadashi often found his mind drifting to somewhere else. His teachers were patient with him though, and they didn't gave him homework today since they assume he's still hurting after what happened to his kid brother and they didn't want to burden him.<p>

Tadashi, however, was irritated that they're pitying him. He doesn't want anyone feeling sorry for him, this is HIS problem and pain—not theirs—he's facing. After classes ended, instead of retreating to his workstation like he always did before, Tadashi decide to leave early.

"Do you want to hang out with us later, Tadashi?" Honey asked, trying to cheer him the best as she could. "Wasabi's treating us to dinner at this sushi restaurant. You know, the one where we hang out together a couple of times."

"The same place where I spilled wasabi on my shirt one time," Wasabi chuckled. "I don't mind my nickname anymore… But Hiro would have love the place—"

Tadashi forced a grin, his hand tightening its grip on the strap of his bag. "No, you guys go on without me. I've got plenty of homework to catch up, especially the new ones piled up on me."

"What new homework?" Gogo scoffed before popping her bubblegum.

Tadashi gave her a quick, dirty look. Before he can leave, Fred jumped in front of him, holding up his arms out.

"C'mon, Tadashi," Fred said. "Let me hug you. You look like you need one—"

"Not now, Fred," Tadashi mumbled, pushing him away. He ignored his friends' pained expressions. He just wanted to be left alone.

Tadashi left the Robotics Lab building. The sun's blaring rays hurt his eyes, and Tadashi wished he still had his baseball cap to cover them. His favorite hat is probably lost in the fire too, along with Hiro.

His heart began to ache terribly, as though someone is squeezing the life out of it.

Before he can completely leave the campus, Tadashi went back to the entrance and removed the memorial photograph of Hiro away. He cannot stand anyone looking at the picture of his lost brother, hear them part a few words that seemed shallow instead of genuine before going on their merry way.

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><p>Aunt Cass was surprised to see her nephew home earlier than she expected, but she welcomed him home with a warm smile.<p>

"I'm so proud of you, Honey, for being so brave going to school today," she told him. A lightbulb lit up inside her head. She wanted to do something special for him. "I'm going to cook you something some chicken wings tonight. You know the spicy ones that seem to melt your face off?" She made movements of her hands fanning her face. "Hiro really loved them, he thought his face would burn up into flames—"

She saw Tadashi's expression froze and she realized what she just said. Her face broke. "Tadashi, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean—!"

"Sorry, Aunt Cass. I don't feel like eating tonight anyway," Tadashi said stiffly.

The inventor walked up the stairs, just in time to hear his aunt breaking into low sobs. When he reached his bedroom, he saw Mochi curling up on top of Hiro's jacket lying on Hiro's bed. The jacket is what was left of his brother.

Blood boiling with rage, he began screaming at Mochi, _**"Get out, you stupid cat!"**_

The calico cat gave him a sad look before jumping off from Hiro's bed and walking away. Now that he's alone, Tadashi takes out the picture of Hiro he managed to snatch from the memorial. He removed the frame, tossing it into the trashcan, and placed the photograph near his own bed on his side of the room.

Tadashi sighed as fatigue began to take hold of him. He felt extremely tired. He changed into his bed clothes and flopped on the bed. He felt like sleeping early tonight, but his body is starting to hurt all over him. He ignored it and forced himself to sleep, but his dreams were plagued by nightmares of Hiro crying out for his older brother's name, before they were silenced by the crackling flames.

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><p>Tadashi thought going back to SFIT yesterday was bad, but returning to school today is actually worse. Every student is either avoiding or coming over to give him their sympathy. He eventually got tired of it that he told his friends that he won't be joining with them for lunch.<p>

"I'm just gonna go grab a bite somewhere else," he said. "Don't worry, I'll be back before the next class starts."

This was a lie. He just doesn't want to see or talk with anyone else today. He revved up his moped and left the campus immediately. He zoomed through the streets of San Fransokyo, feeling lost in his grief and emptiness. He decided to take a 'scenic route' through the dinghy alleys, since he didn't feel like immediately coming straight home at this moment.

As he passed through the shadowy alleys, he realized this is the same place where he rescued Hiro from being beaten up by Yama's men after he destroyed Yama's robot. He snorted to himself, what was his brother thinking—going to illegal botfights and risking himself getting hurt or arrested. Then again, if he had let Hiro continue doing what he was good at, then he wouldn't lost his life in the fire…

Tadashi wasn't paying attention when he saw a figure of a kid running into a corner. A kid about fourteen-years-old, with spiky black hair and wearing a familiar dark-blue hoodie…

"Hiro?!" Tadashi gasped. He stopped his moped and ran after the kid. It couldn't be, Hiro died in the accident.

Mind racing and heart bursting with hope, Tadashi chased after the shadowy figure of his brother through the alleys on foot. Where is Hiro going?

"Hiro, where are you going?" he called out to him. Tears of happiness began to leak out from the corner of his eyes. "It's me, Tadashi! Your niisan! I can't believe it—you're alive!"

Hiro didn't seem to listen to his older brother. He continued running and until he turned to another corner. Tadashi followed him into an open area that was just a dead end. Hiro is nowhere in sight.

Tadashi's body went paralyzed with shock before crumpling to the ground. His grieving sobs echoed throughout the entire area.

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><p>As the days passed, Tadashi often skipped classes to the point he eventually stopped coming to SFIT. Returning to school was supposed to take his mind from Hiro's death and so he can appear strong for everybody, but it only made him missed his little brother even more.<p>

On days he skipped classes Tadashi, like a lost little child, would wander around the areas he knew Hiro often visited, hoping that he would find glimpses of his brother—alive and safe—and earn to hold him once more.

It did nothing good for him. Sorrow, bitterness, and loneliness continue plaguing his mind and body each day. Tadashi not only stopped attending school, he also stopped going outside by keeping himself isolated from everyone in his bedroom. He ignored all the phone calls and e-mails his friends tried to contact him. Aunt Cass still kept trying to help him and ease his pain, but all her efforts ended up in vain.

Tadashi is having difficulties sleeping. One night, he woke up again from his usual nightmares and found his pillow soaked from his tears.

It became like a regular thing for him, dreaming of his brother's death and seeing hallucinations of his brother almost everywhere; it's as though Death is still mocking him by reminding him how useless he was by allowing himself to save someone's life out of the kindness of his own heart only to let his brother to die thanks to him.

_Hiro isn't really gone, as long as we remember him…_ What a load of crock! It still hurts to this day! Hiro is gone because of Tadashi's stupid kindess and foolish habit of helping people.

Tadashi eyes scanned around his surroundings, trying to find something that will stop the pain. His eyes landed on the red portable box that contained his greatest project, the caregiver robot Baymax. The same robot he showed off to Hiro, who was impressed by his big brother's invention.

No, he doesn't need a nursebot. He needed something else.

He needed his brother.

Tadashi got up and walked over to Hiro's side of the room. He then returned to his bed, holding Hiro's Megabot close to his heart. He kissed the battle bot, pretending he was kissing his little brother goodnight.

_"I love you, Hiro…"_ Tadashi whispered in his Japanese language as fresh tears began to burn his eyes once more. He curled up into a fetal position, crying silently to sleep.

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><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>


	2. Five Stages: Isolation and Anger

**Chapter Summary: **Tadashi's four friends visit a depressed, isolated inventor who wants nothing to do with them. Baymax is activated and tries to help him too.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

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><p>It was another afternoon at San Fransokyo. Tadashi stared out the window of his room which overlooked the street of his neighborhood. It was a beautiful day and he could see a cherry blossom tree blooming at one corner, as well as passerbys going to and fro without a care in the world. Yet, Tadashi felt no peace or joy from this beautiful day.<p>

The young robotics student has isolated himself in his bedroom ever since that tragic accident; the day his entire world has been taken away from him. He could no longer feel any desire or motivation to return to SFIT and continue his studies. All he could do is sit in the empty room, alone, feeling gloomier and emptier as the days passed. He then heard his aunt's familiar, warm voice.

"Tadashi?" Aunt Cass gently called out to him. "Tadashi, your friends are here!"

Tadashi didn't move his spot from the window nor he looked up. However he replied in a monotone voice, "Right. Okay."

"Go right in," Aunt Cass gestured Tadashi's four friends from college into the bedroom.

Wasabi thanked her before cautiously approaching his friend. "Hey, Tadashi," he smiled.

Tadashi's expression became sullen and he crossed his arms. He seemed rather irritated than glad to see his friends and he kept looking out the window.

"Why did you come here?" he demanded.

"Well," Wasabi began, "we haven't seen you for a few weeks, so…"

"And now you've seen me," Tadashi snapped. His harsh tone made Honey and Wasabi uncomfortable, while Gogo just kept her distance. Silence filled the room.

Cass' head peeked out from the stairs. "Excuse me, I'm going to make some juice with muffins. Would you kids like some too?"

"Oooh, are they blueberry?!" Fred piped up. He always loved free food.

However, Tadashi spoke again. "Thanks, Aunt Cass, but there's no need. They were just about to leave."

Wasabi sighed and gave the woman an apologetic look. "Yeah… We stopped by drop off his homework."

"Oh. All right," Cass said. She looked disappointed and left them alone this time.

Gogo, fed up with Tadashi's icy attitude, stepped forward. "Okay, I'm really leaving. Who do you think you are, treating us like this?" she growled.

"Gogo," Wasabi groaned. Their visit isn't going smoothly as he planned and Gogo is making it worse for them.

"I didn't ask you to come here!" Tadashi said angrily, finally turning his head to look at his friends. He hasn't seen them since the funeral. Why do they have to be here, just to remind him what happened that day…

"We were worried, Tadashi," Honey said in a meek voice. "Ever since the accident, you've been—"

"Different? Completely changed? I've course I am!" Tadashi interrupted her. "What happened at the showcase hall was a bad accident and there was nothing I could do about it!" He was talking about the people who are gone like Professor Callaghan… and Hiro.

Tadashi glanced over to his brother's empty bed which remained untouched. Hiro Hamada's favorite hoodie jacket lay on the center, missing its young owner. Tadashi walked over to the bed and gently touched Hiro's jacket, trying to remember his brother wearing it.

"Even if my brother's no longer here, I'm going to keep his bed neat and orderly, and remember to keep his battle bot collections clean," Tadashi said softly. "I…"

He felt Wasabi's huge, comforting hand on his shoulder. Tadashi finally broke down into tears.

_"I missed him,"_ the inventor cried, his voice full of anguish.

Wasabi rubbed his friend's back as the others crowd againts him, to give him their support. "Tadashi, what happened was terrible, but you've got to be strong now."

"Nobody's ever going to forget Hiro, man," Fred said. "And nobody's asking you too."

Honey added, "But locking yourself in this room won't solve anything."

"Right," Gogo said, nodding. "You can't spend all your time like…"

"A recluse, Gogo?" Tadashi finished for her. He dried his tears and stared coldly at the smaller girl. Gogo wasn't intimidated.

"Bingo," she said. "I know how you feel about, Hiro… but what you're doing is unhealthy and an insult to his memory."

Tadashi's eyes narrowed and his hands formed into fists. "How… dare you! How can you say things like that?!"

"Yeah, you're kinda going overboard here, Gogo!" Fred quickly covered Gogo's mouth with his hand and pushed her away. He chuckled nervously. "Pay no attention to her, Tadashi, I understand how you…"

"What could you possibly understand?" Tadashi asked. He raised his voice and prodded a finger at Fred's chest. "You don't know anything! When did you ever lost a sibling?!"

Fred's face fell. "Tadashi…"

Tadashi lost his patience, his friends should have never have come in the first place. They brought too much trouble for him already and they don't really understand what he's going through. Anger and despair filled him to the point he was shaking all over.

He wants to be left alone now.

"Get out," he ordered.

"We—" Wasabi began but Tadashi threw Megabot at their direction, and the fighting bot missed them. Tadashi then screamed, _**"PLEASE!"**_

The four hurried down the stairs to the bakery where they found Cass behind the counter. She read their expressions perfectly that their visit didn't help Tadashi at all.

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><p>The group stepped out of the cafe since Tadashi didn't want nothing to do with them.<p>

"Well, we gave it our best shot!" Fred said, folding his arms behind his head. "It didn't go so well, huh?"

"It would've gone better if Gogo hadn't said those things to Tadashi," Wasabi blurted out. He turned to glare at the shorter girl. "What on earth were you thinking?"

Gogo was taken aback, a small flash of genuine hurt crossed her face. "Now you're angry at me too?" she asked.

"Of course I am!" Wasabi said. "You were too hard on Tadashi. We should be helping him now that he's very down."

Gogo's lips thinned into a frown before turning away from the group.

"You can say that again," she said in a low voice, "but he keeps shutting us away. If you ever feel like needing my assistance again to help Tadashi, you know my number. But right now— I need to be somewhere."

"Gogo, wait!" Honey called out to her, but Gogo was already leaving. The tall girl looked at her remaining friends with a guilty expression on her face. "I'm sorry to leave you guys right now. I'll try to calm her down. I'll see you two later."

Then Honey left as well, quickly catching up to Gogo. Now it's just Fred and Wasabi alone, standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

"What a crummy afternoon," Fred said sadly, tucking his hands into his pockets. He felt so useless ever since the showcase incident and the funeral. He could only give words of comfort, yet he wished he could have done more for Tadashi.

"What do we do now, Wasabi?"

Wasabi sighed. He usually comes prepared with anything, whether it's breath mints or extra pair of underwear; and there's his whole "system" of organizing and planning things ahead, so he knows what to do in a situation. However, everything is falling apart, and his grieving friend isn't improving so much. And there's nothing else the neatnik could do.

"I don't know, Fred. I just don't know…"

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><p>Tadashi watched his friends leaving one by one from his window. He closed the blinds, blocking all light from entering the bedroom. His heart is still racing from those burst of emotions he screamed at his friend.<p>

His friends' words continue ringing in his head but his heart couldn't be softened enough. Why do they even bother coming all the way here when he told them he doesn't want to see them in person? He didn't ask for their help in the first place. They wanted to do something nice for him, thinking their words and touches could cheer him up.

_How dumb!_ he thought grimly. _I don't want consolation from anybody. I don't need anything! I just want to be left alone for as long as I feel like it…_

Lonely silence filled the room, absent of the sound of a certain young boy fiddling with his toy robots whenever they get broken. Tadashi's eyes moved across Hiro's desk and they fell on the admission letter from SFIT. The ticket to Hiro's supposed dream…

Anger filled him, he grabbed the letter and tore it into two. He balled it up and threw it away, landing between Hiro's bed and the wall. When he calmed down, he realized what he just did. He was about to walk over to retrieve the torn up letter when he tripped over the fighting bot, Megabot, that was lying on the floor near Hiro's bed.

Tadashi tried to grab onto the shelf above Hiro's dresser to catch himself—and it broke with a snap and he fell sharply, wedging himself between the bed and the dresser. For extra humiliation, the shelf had tipped down and the robot toys that were lined up all slid off.

"Ow!" Tadashi cried when the toys landed painfully his head.

Then he saw something moving from his side of the room. He stared as a familiar white shape rose and began to take form. He watched a fully inflated Baymax shuffled to where he is, knocking a few stuff over with his enormous round body.

"Hello, Tadashi," he finally spoke, waving his hand. "I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion."

"Hey, Baymax," Tadashi greeted him back, feeling embarrassed to be stuck in a tight space and buried in toy robots. "It's been a while since I talked to you, huh?"

Baymax looked curiously at his creator. "I heard a sound of distress, and you seemed to have fallen."

Tadashi snorted. "Nooo, you think so?"

A chart of icons with smiling and frowning faces representing degrees of pain appeared on Baymax's chest. "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" he asked.

"Not now, Baymax," Tadashi grunted, trying to wriggle himself free.

To his surprise, Baymax reached down to pick up Tadashi, cradling him like a baby and placed him gently on top of Hiro's bed. "It is alright to cry. Crying is a natural response to pain," Baymax said. He leaned forward. "May I offer some medical assistance, Tadashi?"

"No!" Tadashi shouted. "I don't need assistance!"

He rubbed his head, clearly in pain after falling over. He gets up from Hiro's bed, trying to get away from Baymax. However, the robot is relentless.

"Please do not get up quickly to prevent disorientation. I suggest some rest to alleviate the head injury."

"I'm okay, and I don't need rest. I have plenty already," Tadashi holds up his hands to stop him. Why did he have to build a robot to be so pushy?

"My sensors detect you are experiencing lack of sleep, poor diet, and mood swings" Baymax suddenly said. "This is unusual since you are in excellent health."

Tadashi went quiet and looked away from his robot. Baymax tilted his head in confusion. "What seems to be the problem, Tadashi?"

"It's… nothing," Tadashi replied, trying to avoid his gaze. He couldn't bring himself talk to Baymax any further.

"I would like to help you," Baymax insisted.

You can't. Nobody can, the inventor thought sadly. He walked over to his side of the room and picked up the red portable suitcase. "Okay, big fella, it's time go back to your box. I am satisfied with—"

"Hiro."

At the mention of his little brother's named, Tadashi turned around to see Baymax holding Hiro's hoodie. The same one Hiro wore to the SFIT showcase.

_**"Hey, don't touch that!"**_ Tadashi screamed, dropping the suitcase. He ran over and snatched it away from his robot's hands. _"You can't touch things without permission—"_

A small metallic object slipped out from one of the hoodie's pockets and fell to the floor, alerting both Tadashi and Baymax's attention. Tadashi recognized it as a microbot, it was part of Hiro's of invention he used in his demonstration.

He was stunned to see it vibrating and shaking.

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><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>


	3. Terrifying Discovery

**Chapter Summary:** Tadashi and Baymax follow Hiro's microbot to an abandoned warehouse.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

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><p>Tadashi slowly picked up Hiro's microbot and examined it closely. He could not understand why it's still moving without the rest of its friends. He looked around and picked up a petri dish and put the microbot in it, covering it tight so it won't escape. He placed the petri dish on the desk so he could look at it closely.<p>

"This doesn't make sense," Tadashi said finally. He turned to Baymax. "This is a microbot-Hiro's invention. This thing's attracted to the rest of his pals, and he used it for his demonstration. But they were all destroyed in the fire. So, why is it still moving...?"

"It seems your tiny robot is trying to go somewhere," Baymax pointed out.

Tadashi stared at him, incredulous. "What? Don't be ridiculous. Besides, where would it go?"

"Maybe to find the rest of of its friends," the nursebot replied.

"I told you, the rest of Hiro's microbots are destroyed in the fire. This thing is just... lost." Tadashi mood dropped at the last word, realizing how he and the small bot are not so different.

"Would finding out where the tiny robot wants to go would stabilize your emotional distress?"

"Baymax, please. I'm not _distressed_-I'm being _realistic!_"

The inventor could feel his heart breaking, moving away from Baymax so he can stare at the walls. Emotions began piling up inside his chest while head is filled with conflicted thoughts. He wanted to be left alone as usual, he doesn't want anything to do with Hiro's microbot since it painfully reminded him of the tragic accident. Yet a small part of him does want to know why the microbot is still working, even though it might lead him on a wild goose chase. He heard Baymax's squeaky balloon footsteps approaching him until they stopped. His robot is standing behind him. Tadashi turned around to see Baymax carrying the dish holding the lone microbot, still shaking.

"Tadashi, do you want to find out where it wants to go?" he asked kindly.

Tadashi stared at Baymax for one whole minute. He sighed and shook his head. "I must be out of my mind." The inventor grabbed his gray cardigan and dark green blazer, and put them on quickly. Taking the petri dish, he was about to leave the room when he heard Baymax following him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I am going with you," Baymax answered. "You are my patient, I want to make sure your health is taken care of."

Tadashi shook his head and affectionately patted his chest. "Sorry, pal, you're too delicate to be taken around somewhere yet. I'm just gonna do this myself." At this moment, Mochi the cat came up from the stairs and cautiously approached Tadashi, meowing. The robotics student gently picked him and placed him in Baymax's arms.

"Here, play with Mochi while I'm gone. Just be careful not to let his claws pop you," Tadashi said, smiling a little. Then he went down the stairs, leaving a confused Mochi looking at the marshmallow-like being.

"Hello, fluffy feline, I am Baymax," said the robot.

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><p>Tadashi sneaked out the back door so he wouldn't let his aunt know that he's leaving. He was glad that the Lucky Cat Cafe is full of customers, so at least Aunt Cass is doing something to keep her busy for a couple hours before he comes back. He decided take his moped since it'll be quicker for him to find the unknown location where the microbot is going.<p>

He went to the garage to get his moped. The same garage he and Hiro turned into a lab so Tadashi can use it for his college homework and projects, and Hiro using to make his battle bots. All the multiple computer terminals and 3-D printers were covered in cloth out of respect for Hiro's memory. Tadashi grabbed his helmet, started up his moped, and then drove into the streets.

He is unaware that a red portable suitcase containing a caregiver robot is following him on his own set of wheels under the box-shaped suitcase.

Tadashi made his way downtown, keeping a close watch where the microbot is leading him while avoiding cars and pedestrians. He noticed that the microbot seems to be point to one direction and its movements became more erratic each time he thought came closer to his destination. Tadashi had thought the small bot is malfunctioning but now he had to consider the possibility that it wasn't and something suspicious is up.

Now burning with curiosity, Tadashi now wanted to see where the tiny bot is leading him. It felt so strange doing this, as though it reminded of him all those times he sewed GPS trackers on every Hiro's hoodies so he could keep tabs on him. Sure he was being overprotective to the point it gets questionable, but he's always their to bail Hiro out of trouble. He started chuckling to himself when he remembered the last time he tried to drive Hiro away from Yama and his tough-looking goons who were part of an illegal bot fighting ring, the two brothers ended up in jail. Even though it wasn't exactly funny, he still found himself grinning and shaking his head.

"That knucklehead, what was he thinking..." he muttered. He felt tears forming but he quickly wiped his eyes dry with one hand.

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><p>Tadashi parked his moped near a shop near the run-down industrial part of the city and continued on foot. Everything around him seemed abandoned but he had to continued forward. He heard a few faint sounds of cars hitting brakes and tire screeching, followed by confused shouting ("Did you see that?!" "It looked like a moving box!") behind him. He ignored the commotion.<p>

The microbot is now wildly shaking and banging against the dish, leading the young man towards a grimy old warehouse. Tadashi tried to pull and push the metal doors. It was locked. He couldn't even pull the chains that were tied to the door. He cannot give up now, he's so close to solving this mystery. He stood back a little, looking at the huge building, thinking on how to get inside. Moments later, he piled up a couple of old wooden crates so he can climb on them and reach for an upper story window. The window was still far away from his grasp, and the crates were beginning to give away. He wondered if he could jump high enough to reach the window.

"Tadashi. Please exercise caution," a voice suddenly said. "A fall from that height could lead to bodily harm."

**"Aaah!"** Tadashi yelped and turned around, nearly falling off. He was shocked to see a familiar red suitcase rolling up to him. Then Baymax rose and stepped out from the suitcase. "Baymax?! What are YOU doing here? I told you can't come with me!"

"My programming does not allow me to leave my patient alone and unattended until they've been given enough care under my watch," Baymax replied. Then he tilted his head. "Did you find the source of your emotional distress?"

Tadashi jumped off from the crates. "No, not yet-now shoo, you cannot be here!" He tried to move his huggable robot back into his charging station, but Baymax wouldn't budge no matter how hard Tadashi pushed. He was about to deactivate him with the trigger words when Baymax offered a useful suggestion.

"I could help you reach for the window, if that is alright with you."

Tadashi was hesitant but he allowed Baymax to help him on this. Just this once, he hoped. Soon, he was now standing on the robot's head and shoulders; he easily pulled himself through the window and into the warehouse. In the dim light, he could see rusty metal staircases and other dangerous-looking machinery that had long been used and forgotten. He heard a sound and he jumped, thinking he was caught. He turned around and saw that Baymax had gotten stuck trying to get through the window.

"Oh no," Baymax declared.

_"Baymax,"_ Tadashi groaned, running a hand down his face.

"Excuse me while I let out some air."

Tadashi nervously watched as Baymax began to deflate, the sound of the air being released sounded obnoxious, and he began to worry that he and his robot might get caught before the inventor can even explore. Thankfully, nobody came and when Baymax was finished, Tadashi pulled him inside.

"It will take me a moment to reinflate," Baymax said.

"Okay, but keep it down," Tadashi said in a low voice. _If I remember it, I must find an alternative way for Baymax to deflate faster._

After what seemed liked forever, Baymax is fully inflated. The two quietly went down a flight of creaky stairs ("This seems unsafe, an accidental slip-" _"YES, BAYMAX. Now shush!"_). Tadashi used the microbot in the petri dish to navigate and to his surprise, it stopped moving and laid still; despite how confused he is right now, he pressed forward after pocketing the dish into his blazer. He is getting closer.

* * *

><p>They turned a corner and came into a huge area in the middle of the warehouse. Up ahead, Tadashi saw what looks like to be a tent made of vinyl tarps and something mechanical was inside moving. He and Baymax crept closer, the former peeked inside through the semi-transparent tarp rather than go through an opening slit he noticed in one side of the tent to enter. A large machine is manufacturing something, and two robotic arms that looked they could belong to SFIT were dropping tiny objects into a conveyor belt that were spit out from the large machine. Tadashi found this rather strange; the warehouse is old and abandoned, but this machine and the tent seemed recent.<p>

"There's something shady and illegal going on here," Tadashi said, thinking out loud. He followed to the mouth of the tent, the small objects on the conveyor belt were then dropped into an open oil drum. Tadashi's blood turned to ice when he recognized them.

These are Hiro's microbots! And there are more of them inside the oil drum!

Tadashi noticed more oil drums, at least about twenty or thirty, filled with more microbots nearby. His mind is rapidly racing as he tries to process all these info. His body was trembling so bad, he couln'dt decide it was out of shock, fear, or anger.

"Hiro's microbots were destroyed... b-but someone's making more," he whispered.

Baymax's voiced alerted him. "Tadashi."

Tadashi turned his head to see Baymax pointing to a wall covered in papers full of plans, writings, and a mysterious red symbol of a bird. He peeked closer to them and could only get out the name "Project Silent Sparrow" when he heard a metal door opening somewhere in the warehouse. He realized there wasn't enough time to leave the area. Thinking quickly, he grabbed Baymax, pulled him inside the tarp through the slit he noticed earlier and closed it up. The two ducked close to the ground, Tadashi was sweating in fear; he prayed silently that he and Baymax wouldn't be caught.

They heard someone approaching and Tadashi recognized it as the sound of a woman's heels clicking every step. Then the footsteps stopped in front of the tent. Another pair of footsteps followed from the opposite direction, and they seemed to be heavier.

"It's just me, nobody followed me as usual," a woman's voice spoke up. Tadashi couldn't recognize her voice but she sounded formal. "I see the machine I smuggled in for has been working fine so far?"

The other person didn't say something, but Tadashi could picture them nodding their head.

"I'm surprised you managed to make this many in such a short time," the woman continued. Tadashi heard her walking around, inspecting the oil drums. "That Hamada boy only made two trashcans worth of them in three weeks. I got to give him credit for making these microbots sophisticated, but it doesn't take much for a genius such as yourself to figure out how to produce more of them, huh?"

Tadashi's pale knuckles tightened in fury.

"Anyways, let's get to the office. I got what you asked me to bring."

Soon, the woman and her silent partner left. Tadashi waited for a couple of minutes until he knows it's safe to come out, then he and Baymax left the tent. Tadashi wanted to leave the warehouse as soon as possible, but he had an idea. The woman mentioned the machine can produce a lot microbots in a short time, but what would happen if the machine were to malfunction...? Not only this will delay the progress, but he can back to get more clues of this warehouse and possibly what the mysterious people are planning to do with his brother's invention.

Tadashi went to the machine and the design appeared to be a little complicated than he expected. However, he managed to mess around the delicate program so that it would probably take a while for whoever's making the microbots to fix the machine. The machine stopped working and then it shut down with a low whistle. Then Tadashi took care of the robot arms by dismantling easily.

Tadashi turned to Baymax and motioned him to follow him. "Let's get out of here before anyone notices their machine is broken." He made dash headstart when he looked back and saw Baymax slowly waddling behind him. He groaned and slapped his face.

"I am not fast," Baymax said.

"I know, I know!" Tadashi muttered as he hurried back and pulled Baymax along. He thought wildly as he heard the oil drums began to shake behind them, _Why didn't I give my robot-**A CAREGIVER ROBOT**-better speed! How was he supposed to handle medical emergencies if he were slow as molasses! What was I thinking, or better yet-how did I even overlooked this mistake?!_

Tadashi could already picture Hiro's deadpan expression and snarky voice if he ever knew his brother's flaw in Baymax's programming. _"Jeez, knucklehead, what did you expect from a walking marshmallow?"_

He and Baymax headed to window they had come in through. Baymax tried to deflate again so he can squeeze through. Tadashi was panicking when he heard an ominous buzz and metallic clicking in the distance. He saw the microbots movingly menacingly towards them and they were halfway up the stairs. He ran his hands over his pockets to look for something to help Baymax get through the window faster. Without a moment to spare, Tadashi breaks a nearby window with his foot and grabbed a long piece of sharp glass. He ignored the stabbing pain in his hand.

They headed to window they had come in through. Baymax tried to deflate again so he can squeeze through. Tadashi was panicking, what if someone notices their presence. Then he heard an ominous buzz and metallic clicking in the distance. He saw the microbots movingly menacingly towards them and they were halfway up the stairs. He ran his hands over his pockets to look for something to help Baymax get through the window faster. Without a moment to spare, Tadashi breaks a nearby window with his foot and grabbed a long piece of sharp glass. He ignored the stabbing pain in his hand.

"Your hand is bleeding, I must tend to it," Baymax suddenly said.

"I'm sorry, buddy," Tadashi said regretfully before puncturing Baymax's balloon arms with the glass.

More air jetted out quickly. Tadashi shoved Baymax through the window just in time before the microbots can snatch them. Baymax cradled Tadashi as they fell, his body absorbing the blow as they hit the ground. Tadashi looked back up at the window and saw a tall dark figure in a white-and-red Kabuki mask looking down at them. Tadashi scrambled to his feet, grabbed Baymax and the red suitcase, and ran away as fast as he can.

* * *

><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>


	4. You Can(not) Fix This One

**Chapter Summary:** Tadashi and Baymax returned home, and the inventor broods over his grief while the robot tries to console him.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

* * *

><p>Tadashi ran and ran, carrying the red charging station under one arm while he pulled Baymax along forcefully. The two didn't stop running until they came to a safer part of the alleyway where they can see a lively street full of people up ahead. Tadashi even recognized the location where he parked his moped nearby. The robotics student let go of Baymax and dropped the red suitcase on the ground. He then leaned against the cement wall of the alley, panting and gasping for air.<p>

"Th-that was close," he breathed. He was sweating bullets and he could feel every hair on the back of his neck standing. "I don't think that guy's coming after us... That gave me a heart attack."

At this, Baymax waddled over to Tadashi, his deflated balloon skin on both arms were hanging from the skeletal structure of his body. "My hands are equipped with defibrillators," he said as he rubbed his hands together and held them up to Tadashi's chest, ready to shock his heart into normal rhythm. "Clear."

"Whoa, Baymax-stop! It's just an expression!" Tadashi protested.

He felt a sharp pain in his right hand and looked down saw it being completely covered in blood. He remembered he cut the same hand from using a broken window glass.

Baymax scanned Tadashi's bleeding hand and began to show pictures of the wound on the video screen on his chest.

"You received a few lacerations on your palm and fingers," Baymax tells him. "While the injury isn't severe, it must be treated immediately before it worsens. I suggest applying presure to stop the bleeding."

"Oh, that's right," Tadashi nodded.

He checked his pockets again and was disappointed to find no handkerchief to wrap around his hand. He's starting to feel a little lightheaded; whether from his hand losing blood or from running too hard, he couldn't decide.

He then saw Baymax walking to his suitcase to take out a gauze and bandages from one of the small drawers. The robot waddled back to his creator and gently took Tadashi's hands. He then used his finger to spray warm, soap water on the skin, washing away the blood.

"What are you doing?" he asked suddenly.

"I am treating your wound," Baymax replied as he cleaned the wound. "I shall now apply ointment to reduce the chance of infection-"

"I know that, but you're in no condition help me right now," Tadashi protested. "Look at your arms! You need to be fixed first!"

"You are my patient, Tadashi. Your health is my only concern."

Tadashi sighed but he smiled up at his robot. "Alright, you're the nurse, big guy."

He watched as Baymax carefully pressed a gauze against the large cut and then wrapped the bandages around the hand with expert ease. He could feel his heart swelling with pride; just seeing his caregiver robot doing his job just like he was programmed to made Tadashi happy that he invented something that would help so many people. It took Tadashi forever to perfect Baymax, he had to go through eighty-three tests of painful trials and errors until he got Baymax to work properly on the eighty-fourth test. He remembered showing off his robot to Hiro and the two brothers discussed, in their "nerd talk", over Baymax's built and design.

_Hiro would have an easier time building Baymax though,_ he thought. _He probably wouldn't have slaved months and suffered eighty-four tests to get him to work too. A big brain in a small head, and what does he do? Put his time making robots fight. Knucklehead..._

Just thinking of his brother again made his heart began to ache. Then he remembered the masked man with the microbots.

"I have finished treating your wound," Baymax said cheerfully. Then he holds up a sugar-free lollipop in front of his creator. "Here, have a lollipop."

Tadashi took the lollipop but he didn't unwrap it. He sadly stared at it before before pocketing it away. "We can't stand around much longer. We have to go to the police and tell them about what we saw at the warehouse."

He was about to turn to leave when he heard a noise behind him. He turned around and saw Baymax's body slouching over. An image of a battery began appeared on his chest and it's blinking red.

"Looow ba_aa_tterr_rry..._" Baymax slurred.

"Whoa, Baymax!" Tadashi ran and held him up the best he can. "Now where's your charging station...?"

He saw the red suitcase. Tadashi left his robot and saw the charger is low on battery as well. "Unbelievable!" He sighed with frustration. "This should have enough energy that would last a few days, a week maybe! I'm pretty sure this was plugged to the outlet the night before. Why didn't I check this earlier-"

_"I will scan diagnosis now! Healthcare complete!"_ Baymax shouted, swaying wildly back and forth. He's now acting like a drunk person. This is the first time Tadashi has seen something like this and he felt so awkward that this is happening right now.

Tadashi quickly grabbed his robot before he falls over. Looks like going to the police won't be happening after all. "Okay, you've taken care of me. Now let's take you home so I can take care of you."

Baymax suddenly shout, _"I am companion! Your personal Baymax healthcare!"_

* * *

><p>It took Tadashi the rest of the afternoon to return home. He had to buy some rope from a store to tie Baymax down on the seat of the moped to make sure he doesn't fall off in his "drunken" state. Tadashi knew it would be too risky to drive the moped through the busy street so he just walks it on the sidewalks, while Baymax's half-deflated body leaned against his head and shoulder. He avoid getting eye-contact from curious passerbys though he could feel his face burning like fire.<p>

He struggled to drag his moped with Baymax and the charging station sitting on it through the city until he saw the Lucky Cat cafe in sight. He went around the back where the garage is and plugged the red suitcase into an outlet. He untied Baymax and gently helped him step down from the ride. Baymax began rustling Tadashi's hair affectionately.

"You are so fluffy. Fluffy Tadashi_ii..._" Baymax mumbled. He then attempted to cuddle with his creator while he continued babbling. _"I will scan you on the scale offended to lollipop. How would you rate your care? Hello, I am robot!"_

Tadashi couldn't help but laugh but he guided Baymax into his charger. "One foot in front of the other, buddy. C'mon, you're almost there."

With Baymax finally in place, Tadashi left the garage so he could pick up the materials to patch up Baymax's arms. He entered his home through the back door and quietly hurried up the stairs without alerting his aunt. As he stepped into the room, his chest momentarily squeezed in pain when he saw Hiro's bed and desk still empty and lonely. He ignored it and grabbed the toolkit under his own bed. He was halfway down the stairs when Aunt Cass saw him.

"Tadashi!" she gasped. "Where did you go? You weren't in your room when I checked up on you earlier."

Tadashi stopped and tried to sound casual. "Oh, I was in the garage all afternoon. Working on a new invention."

Cass touched his face tenderly, her expression full of concern. "Honey, you scared me. I understand you're still hurt, but if you're going to go somewhere, please tell me first."

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Aunt Cass," Tadashi said in a low voice though he avoided her gaze.

"So what's this new invention you've been working on?" Cass asked curiously. A small smile on her lips. "Is it for your school?"

"Um, p-pretty much," Tadashi nodded quickly as he moved around her. "It's very important! So, I'm going to be very busy."

Cass tried to stop him before he reached the door. "Ooh, can I bring you anything for dinner-"

But he was already gone. Aunt Cass sighed before going back to work. "At least he's out of his room. I guess that's a good thing," she mumbled.

* * *

><p>Tadashi fixed up the tattered vinyl with special thread as Baymax slowly powered back up in his charging station. He had done this plenty of times before when Baymax's balloon skin accidentally popped and broke apart during his tests.<p>

"There, good as new!" Tadashi grinned.

Baymax's internal motors re-inflated his arms until they were back to normal size and filled with air. "Thank you, Tadashi. I appreciated your help."

"I gotta keep you in top shape, buddy," the inventor said. "Can't have a caregiver companion falling apart."

He began to press some numbers in his cellphone, and waited for someone to pick up.

"San Fransokyo Police Department," a tired voice said. "This is desk sergeant Officer Gerson. How can I help you?"

Tadashi became quiet for a moment. What should he tell the policeman; that he and a robot came to a warehouse, found his brother's stolen invention, and then ambushed by a masked man? While it did really happened, it now sounded ridiculous. But Tadashi poured out his words the best he can without stopping. After ten minutes has passed, the policeman finally replied.

"Alright, let me get this straight," Officer Gerson began slowly. "A man in Kabuki mask attacked you with an army or miniature flying robots which originally belong to your dead brother?"

"Microbots," Tadashi corrected him as he wandered around the garage. Baymax watched him after stepping out of his charging station. "They were stolen and being produced. The man was controlling them telepathically with a neurocranial transmitter."

"Look, young man, I'm not a science whiz here so I need you to explain to me on simple terms," the officer said in an unimpressed tone. "So, Mr. Kabuki was using ESP to attack you and your robot?"

Tadashi rubbed a hand over his face in frustration. "Yes. In a way."

There was silence on the other end.

"What did you say your name was again?"

"Tadashi Hamada. Look, it's not important right now. There's someone out there who got my brother's invention and tried to kill-"

"I've heard of you. And your brother. You two were in jail on the night we rounded up some people at that illegal botfighting ring. Look, I feel sorry for what happened to your brother. He seems like a nice kid... You don't sound like a guy who would make prank calls to the police-"

"WHAT?!" Tadashi cried.

The officer continued, "-Mr. Hamada, calling the police isn't going to help you deal with your loss."

_Well, if you and the other cops were there earlier on the night the fire broke at the showcase, you would have find out clues who started it!_ Tadashi wanted to scream at him. Instead, he hung up his cellphone and set it down sharply on the table.

He then fell back onto the comfortable couch in the corner. He was so tired and confused now. Who was that masked man and why was he building Hiro's microbots? And what was he planning to do with them? Then he remembered the mysterious papers on the wall: the words "Project Silent Sparrow" and the strange symbol of a bird. What are they and what do they mean?

"This doesn't make any sense," he said out loud while staring at the ceiling. "Hiro... what would you do when your stuff gets stolen? Probably, tell our parents about it." He snorted. Then a horrible feeling begin to sink in. "... What would Mom and Dad say?"

* * *

><p><em>He remembered on the day Hiro was born, his parents made him give them his promise.<em>

_"Starting today, you're his big brother, Tadashi," his mom said with a huge smile. "That means you'll have to make sure he doesn't get hurt when we're not around._

_"It's a big a responsibility. Think you can handle it?" his dad inquired, placing a hand on the little five-year-old's shoulder._

_"Yup! I'll be the best big brother to Hiro!" Tadashi nodded while staring happily at his newborn brother._

* * *

><p>"I failed them," Tadashi whispered in horror. Despair filled his chest and he curled up into the couch. "I shouldn't have left Hiro that night. And now he's lost... How can I even face Mom and Dad when I finally see them again? I'm... I'm the worst brother ever."<p>

"Tadashi," Baymax said softly. He sensed his creator's distress and drop in mood levels. "What do you mean by 'Hiro is lost'? Should we find him?"

Tadashi looked at his robot before rolling around, facing his back towards him. "We can't find him, Baymax. He's dead," he answered in a hollow voice. "Along with Professor Callaghan. There was a fire, and... I didn't save him."

He thought of his parents once more. This isn't the first time he felt guilty for allowing his family to die...

* * *

><p><em>On the morning of their deaths, Tadashi didn't want to ride with them in their car since he preferred to take the school bus. His parents wanted to take him to school, but he was throwing a fit.<em>

_"I'm a big boy! I wanna ride the bus with my classmates!" he cried._

_"Awww, let him take the bus, Maemi," Aunt Cass said as she played with three-year-old Hiro on the mat. "I took the train when I was young too and I was safe."_

_"Oh, I guess so," Tadashi's mother sighed. Then she leaned down and give her elder son a peck on the cheek. "You'll behave in school, right?"_

_"He'll be fine," the father said. "Anyway, we have enough time to get to the meeting early."_

_"Make sure Hiro gets his nap," Maemi reminds her sister-in-law before walking out the door with her husband. "Let's go, Tom."_

_"Love you, Momma," Tadashi waved her goodbye before picking up his lunch bag._

_"We'll pick you up after school, okay? See you soon~"_

* * *

><p>Had he known about the traffic accident, Tadashi would have taken a ride with his parents and they would have drove to school in a different street instead. He felt terribly guilty for acting on his selfish needs that he should have done something to prevent their deaths. He made a promise that he would never put his own desires over his family ever again. Yet, he had done it again in the form of putting his own life at risk to save someone else and leaving his brother behind. The very person he had sworn to take care and protect.<p>

He heard Baymax waddling closer to him. "Hiro was in good health. With a proper diet and exercise, he should have lived a long life."

"Yeah, he should have," Tadashi said, feeling fresh tears forming in his eyes. "People keep saying he's not really gone as long as we remember him... but I don't buy it."

Baymax seemed confused. "Why is that?"

"Because it still hurts."

"I see no evidence of physical injury."

"It's a different kind pain, Baymax."

Baymax was silent for a while. He then begun, "... On the scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

"Stop that!" Tadashi angrily sat up in a shot. "Why do you keep hovering me around like that?"

"You are my patient, Tadashi. I want to help you," the robot stated.

"You can't heal this one, buddy. I don't need your help!"

"I was programmed to aid the sick and suffering-"

_**"Go away, Baymax!"**_

Tadashi panted heavily before walking away from his robot to stand in a different corner of the garage to avoid him. Baymax couldn't accept that answer. He is determined to help his patient in anyway possible, especially if his patient happens to be his creator. He turned to one of the computers and began to access information with the touch of his hand. Tadashi finally turned around after drying his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked watching images of websites and pages quickly flashing on Baymax's chest.

"I am downloading a database on personal loss," Baymax replied. "Database downloaded. Treatments include contact with friends and loved ones. I am contacting them down now."

"Wait, what?" Tadashi saw four pictures of his friends from college appeared on Baymax's chest. He ran forward and tried to wipe them away. "No, no no-I don't want to see anybody!"

"Your friends have been contacted."

Tadashi groaned and slapped his face. "Unbelievable. You are so stubborn..."

Tadashi realized how independent Baymax is slowly getting; few times he disobeyed against Tadashi's orders and acted on his own will. The robotics student wondered if he created his invention to become too intelligent. Suddenly, Baymax reached out and gave him a big hug.

"Other treatments include compassion and physical reassurance," Baymax said. He then patted Tadashi's back. "You will be alright."

"I... am I really going to be...?" Tadashi tried to speak but he couldn't finish. The hug brought a great warmth all over his body and it seemed to remove a huge burden off from his chest. He found himself hugging his robot in return.

Baymax eventually breaks off the hug and looks at his creator with a seemingly kind gesture. "I am sorry about the fire. Hiro was a good boy, I miss him."

"Me too, big guy. And no need to be sorry, it was an accident," Tadashi said. Then something snapped in his mind. The wheels in his head started turning and then all the pieces fell together. "Unless... it wasn't."

He quickly takes out the petri dish containing the lone microbot and stared at it. Then he remembered the words of the mysterious woman from the warehouse.

_"I'm surprised you managed to make this many in such a short time. That Hamada boy only made two trashcans worth of them in three weeks. I got to give him credit for making these microbots sophisticated, but it doesn't take much for a genius such as yourself to figure out how to produce more of them, huh?"_

"The man in the Kabuki mask stole Hiro's microbots. And then he started the fire to cover his tracks..." Tadashi said slowly. Anger and hate began to invade his heart like a dark cloud and he found his hands shaking. "He's the one responsible for Hiro's death... We have to find him and stop him!"

Tadashi now knew what he must do. Since the police won't help him catch the masked man, he will have to do it himself. He will catch the man and bring him to justice, and then Hiro will rest in peace.

"Will apprehending the man in the mask improve your emotional state?" Baymax asked.

Tadashi nodded. "Absolutely."

"Then I wish to be of assistance to you. Wherever you go, I will follow you."

"Baymax, you're a nurse, not a fighter-"

Tadashi stopped and began to think. He stepped back and began to picture Baymax wearing armor that resembled Hiro's fighting robot Megabot. He had to admit, Baymax did pulled him out of trouble a couple of times but his current body is too fragile and isn't built for battle. Tadashi felt that he's going to against his original intent for a caregiver companion bot and uprade it into something more. But if it would bring honor to Hiro's memory, then he will throw away whatever morals if he has to.

"On a second thought... it looks like I'm going to need your help after all," Tadashi said with conviction.

* * *

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	5. Five Stages: Bargaining

**Chapter Summary:** Tadashi builds an armor and a fighting chip for Baymax. Training ensues.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

* * *

><p>"Okay. Arms up, buddy," Tadashi said as he pulled an electronic device from a shelf. "I'm making you a new chip."<p>

Baymax did as he was told and Tadashi quickly scanned his robot. Then Tadashi made Baymax switched places and had the latter scan his body as well. He downloaded the scanned image of himself and Baymax to his computer. A 3-D model of Baymax's soft body and Tadashi's lean body appeared on the screen. With Baymax peering curiously over his shoulder, Tadashi opened another screen and downloaded several martial art videos.

"I fail to see how karate makes me a better health-care companion," Baymax stated.

"Just think of this as a new skill to learn when it comes to protecting the sick and injured," Tadashi explained as he linked the model of Baymax to a footage of a dojo scene. "If someone were to harm your patient or even prevent you from doing your job, you need to learn self-defense."

Baymax listened to his creator and looked at the screen. "... I still fail to see how I need to be physically fit enough to fight off ninjas."

Tadashi laughed as he watched the Baymax model take on several fighters with karate moves, as he programmed a fighting chip. He even include a special trigger that would put Baymax into a fighting "defensive" mode in case Tadashi is in danger. He will test it out later to see if it would work.

Once the program is running, Tadashi then rolled his chair over to another computer and began designing parts of armor suits for the both of them. While he's still going to upgrade Baymax into a battle bot, he wanted to fight and defend himself the masked man too since he's armed with the microbots.

"Let's make the best armor ever," he smiled with confidence. Then he fired up the 3-D printer.

* * *

><p>"WHY-CAN'T-I-DO-ANYTHING-RIGHT!"<p>

Tadashi yelled in frustration as he banged his head against the top of his desk. Hours has passed and all he had to show for his time and efforts were several misshaped carbon-fiber armor pieces were scattered all over the room.

Baymax looked over to where he is sitting on the floor, while petting Mochi who is happily sitting on his arms. "I recommend not to repeatedly bang your head, otherwise you will suffer-"

"SHUT UP, BAYMAX! I didn't program you to sass me!"

"... Sass is not in my nursing database."

Tadashi groaned loudly and fell back on his chair. "This is ridiculous!" he complained. "I study robotics engineering in a nerd school! This should be so easy to figure this out!"

He ran his hand through his hair in distraught. He realized he lacked the talent to build fighting robots like his brother, and he looked down on Hiro for his destructive inventions. Meanwhile, Hiro would sarcastically call him a "boring nerd" who makes his inventions "too safe". Tadashi bet his little brother is laughing at him somewhere in the afterlife, but it made feel depressed.

"I give up," he said weakly. "This is a dead end for me."

However, his words sparked something inside his memory.

* * *

><p><em>"You have been putting off your project. It won't be good for your final grade," Professor Callaghan told him after Tadashi complained that his robotic nurse project isn't going anywhere after his 52nd test.<em>

_"I can't help it, Professor," Tadashi sighed as they both walked down the hall together. "No matter how much I tried, the big guys always keep falling apart on me. I'm ready to throw in the towel."_

_The old professor stopped him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Trying isn't enough. Use that big brain of yours to think your way out."_

_"W-what?" Tadashi stammered, staring in confusion._

_"We push the boundaries of robotics here. You are going to go on and shape the future of science," Callaghan told him firmly, his blue eyes shining fiercely. "There is always a solution to a problem. You just have to-"_

_"Look for a new angle?" Tadashi suggested. _

_Callaghan smiled. "I'm pleased to have you as my student. You use that as your own personal motto."_

_"I guess I'll go back and work on Baymax again," Tadashi shrugged._

_"That's good. I appreciate the determination of a future scientist. ...You remind me so much of my daughter."_

_"Was she the one who loved botfighting?" Tadashi asked. He rarely hears Callaghan talk about his personal life but whenever the professor did, he always talks about his daughter._

_"The very same one. Abigail was my greatest joy," Callaghan trailed off. He stared off into the distance. Tadashi was curious of the past tense in his words._

_"Was?"_

_"She died not so long ago. In an accident."_

_"Oh." Tadash felt bad for bringing up a painful subject. "I'm so sorry..."_

_"No, it's alright. You're not the **one** responsible for it."_

_Tadashi saw his professor's face darken, as though he was nursing a venomous grudge. This expression did not seem to suit this seemingly good man and it made the young student a little nervous. He continued walking with his professor before he reached his lab._

_"Good luck on your project, Mr. Hamada," Callaghan said before closing the glass door. "Remember... There are no dead ends."_

* * *

><p>Tadashi repeated his professor's words under his breath and he felt energized again. His professor was always there to give him advice whenever he can't solve a problem. Even though Callaghan lived a good life, he did not deserve to die in that fire accident. Tadashi wished he could have saved him but he didn't regret trying in the first place.<p>

The inventor cannot give up now. He has a masked man to catch and who knows what that criminal would do with Hiro's microbots.

He went back to the computer and opened some files where Hiro kept his designs for building fighting bots. Several blueprints for robots filled the screen and Tadashi couldn't help but become awed at how creative and imaginative they are. He remembered his mission and regained his focus. He checked through each blueprint before settling on an armor suit that looked practical and eye-pleasing, something that Hiro would find "cool".

"I found a new angle," he smiled to himself.

Tadashi then made a quick trip to his bedroom and gathered a few of old toy robots, Hiro's Megabot, and his textbooks on robotics. He needed a LOT of studying.

He returned to the garage without disturbing Aunt Cass who was watching her late night tv shows. He placed his stuff on the desk and pulled out his book. While he was pouring over his notes on his book and Hiro's computer files. Baymax walked over and looked at Megabot closely.

"Hiro was holding this when we first met," the robot stated.

"Yeah. He was," Tadashi said without looking.

After several minutes of studying, the inventor designed another armor piece following Hiro's notes. With just a push of print button, the 3-D printer created a carbon-fiber armor piece. Tadashi grabbed it and was thrilled to see it came out perfect. He was even more happy when it fitted into Baymax's arm. Even though he's still uncomfortable for going against everything he studied and what he built Baymax for, Tadashi knew he cannot rest easy until he catch the masked man. And it's not just bringing justice for Hiro. If he can build Baymax to help many people, he can upgrade the same robot to protect others as well. He'll be turning Baymax into a guardian. As he fitted each armor segment to Baymax, the fighting chip programming has just ended.

Tadashi finally added the last piece of armor to Baymax's soft balloon body and stepped back to admire his hard work. Baymax resembled a brown beetle crossed with a samurai and he looked a bulky under the heavy armor. The padding would protect Baymax's fragile vinyl body from harm and the hard plates would give Baymax offensive strikes.

Tadashi couldn't help but grin wide with triumph. "My first fighting bot... You hear that, Hiro? Who's a boring nerd now?!"

At this moment, Baymax's armor pieces began flying off and hitting the walls. Tadashi flinched and cowered back before he can get hit. Even Mochi the cat ran for cover. When it was over, Tadashi face-palmed himself.

"I swear he's doing this to me on purpose," he grumbled before putting the armor back on Baymax again, making sure they stay fitted. Then it was Tadashi's turn to put on his own armor.

Baymax looked down at himself and moved his arms. "I have concerns, Tadashi. This armor may undermine my nonthreatening, huggable design."

"That's kind of the idea, buddy," Tadashi replied. "And besides, you look tough and handsome."

He put on some elbow and knee guards, a pair of fingerless gauntlets, a teal carbon-fiber vest and shoulder blades. Then he added a teal helmet with a dark eyeshield that covered his upperface, leaving his mouth exposed. He then stood in front of Baymax, waiting for a reaction.

"Well? Do I look sick?" he inquired.

Baymax scanned him. "You looked healthy. Except upon closer inspection, you appear a little malnourished and in need of more hours of sleep."

Tadashi shook his head. He's going to teach his robot more about expressions and metaphors later. He went over to pick up the finished fighting chip and drew a frowning face on it. He went over to Baymax and opened the access port. He paused when he saw Baymax's green health-care chip-the object that what defines Baymax into who he is and his role. He cannot bring himself to remove the chip so he slid the red chip next to the green one.

Soon Baymax began to download the new programming into his database. He watched Tadashi gather and set up some old wooden boards as some sort of training test.

"You ready, Baymax?" Tadashi began as he pointed to a tall board standing in front of the robot. "Punch that."

Baymax quickly analyzed the board before punching swiftly. The board broke in two right in the middle. Tadashi's jaw dropped and then he whooped in excitement. Then he pushed Baymax into a pile of wooden blocks.

"Try this!"

With a swift slice of his hand, Baymax destroyed the wooden blocks too.

"It worked! This is amazing!" Tadashi screamed in delight, dancing a little. He pulled up a tough-looking mannequin to become a temporary training dummy. "Okay, strength is perfect so far. But I need you to practice on your control. Hit this without breaking it."

Baymax carefully pulled back his fist and hit the dummy in the chest. It flew backwards but it didn't break into pieces like the wooden board and blocks. The robot then turned to see Tadashi going into a fighting stance.

"Okay, now practice your new moves on me," Tadashi ordered.

"I cannot harm my patient, Tadashi," Baymax reminded him. "My programming prevents me from injuring a human being."

Tadashi realized that even though Baymax now learned offensive skills, the robot is still a pacifist and gentle caregiver at heart. "Just focus on your control," he told him. "I know you won't hurt me. Trust me, Baymax. Now... use a palm strike."

The medical robot was hesitant but he struck a hand forward with an open palm, holding back as much strength. And since he was so fast, Tadashi couldn't brace himself in time and was struck in the chest. He flew backwards and landed on the floor hard. He coughed and moaned in pain. He heard Baymax approaching him quickly.

"I apologize for injuring you," the robot replied as he gently picked up Tadashi back on his feet. "On the scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

"Excellent!" Tadashi replied happily. He then gave a big kiss on Baymax's face. "Let's do this again. More control, try not to hit me that harder."

"Your answer isn't a number," Baymax blinked in confusion. "I wish not to hurt people with my new strength, Tadashi."

"Deal. Just let me do the people-harming, okay?"

* * *

><p>Tadashi and Baymax continued practicing karate together, the inventor teaching him how to strike and block blows. Their sparring reminded Tadashi of the karate lessons he taught to Hiro for self-defense. The two brothers sometimes challenge each other in friendly fights, but Tadashi always wins in them. Baymax soon mastered karate flawlessly and Tadashi felt so proud for upgrading his robot into a warrior. If he had done something like this before long ago, then neither Hiro nor Callaghan wouldn't be killed.<p>

He held up his fist, a large smile on his face. Baymax tilted his head as he looked at Tadashi's fist.

"Is this an attack move?" he asked curiously.

"No, this is a fist bump," Tadashi explained. "It's something you do when you are excited and all pumped up. Here.."

He carefully showed Baymax by manipulating his hand and made an exploding sound effect with his fingers. Baymax copied his creator's movements.

"Bata-latala," Baymax said in a poor attempt to make an exploding sound.

"Eh, close enough," Tadashi grinned. He straightened up his armor. "Okay, I'm going try out this special trigger I added into your battle programming. It's supposed to put you into defensive mode in case I'm ever in danger. You ready for this?"

"I am prepared to aid you," Baymax said.

Tadashi took a deep breath and was about to utter the word when he heard someone knocking outside the garage. He heard two familiar voices.

"Tadashi, it's us~!" Honey Lemon's voice was heard.

"We came to see you," Wasabi spoke up.

Tadashi sharply turned to Baymax, his mood dropped from excitement to cold irritation. "You didn't..." he hissed dangerously as he hurriedly began removing his armor.

"I contacted your friends earlier," Bamax nodded. "Those who suffer a loss require support from friends and loved ones."

Tadashi ignored him and opened the door of the garage, though not wide enough so his friends won't see the mess inside. He only saw Wasabi and Honey, and they looked a little awkward seeing him but they had smiles on their faces.

"Hey, Tadashi," Wasabi greeted him nervously. "We're sorry that our visit made you uncomfortable earlier. We didn't mean to disrespect Hiro's memory."

"Your brother is a friend to us," Honey said. "Remember we had a little pizza party weeks ago when Hiro took a break from his microbots project?"

The word "microbots" twisted Tadashi's side when he remembered someone started the fire to steal them and killed Hiro in the process. However, he kept a stone-hard blank face as his fingers tightened on door.

"So, how about you join us and we go out to pizza together?" Wasabi suggested. "Gogo and Fred couldn't come, so it'll be just the three of us."

"... I'm not interested."

Honey noticed Tadashi's bandaged hand and tried touch it. "Tadashi, your hand! What happened?"

Tadashi quickly pulled his hand away. "It's nothing," he said quickly. "I just had a little accident. Now, if you excuse me... I'm quite busy here."

"We just got here! Tadashi, please- we can't live like this!" Honey begged. She looked ready to cry.

_"Then leave me alone!"_

The door slammed right in front of their faces. Honey's lips quivered and she turned away, breaking into sobs. Wasabi just stared at the spot where Tadashi's face used to be.

"Tadashi, you're our friend!" Wasabi shouted. "If you didn't want to see us, why did you bother contacting us?! I'm tired, Tadashi-we're all tired. We just wanted to help you!"

Meanwhile inside the garage, Tadashi tried to shut out the words but it still managed to hit his chest like icicle daggers. It really hurt, but they still don't understand his loss. They don't know Hiro like he did. _They will never understand..._

He waited for Wasabi and Honey to leave before looking at Baymax. "Don't ever call them again," he ordered.

"I was trying to be helpful-"

"If you want to help me... YOU will help me catch that guy who stole my brother's microbots."

"You are experiencing guilt over your prevention of Hiro's death," Baymax stated. "If this isn't dealt with and resolved, intense feelings of remorse or anger can interfere with the healing process."

Tadashi stared at him and he could feel his blood boiling but he kept his cool. "You asked me if apprehending the masked man will improve my emotional state. Well, I can't be healed until we get the guy."

He bent over and picked up his armor. "Now before we do that, we're gonna go on a little patrolling."

* * *

><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>


	6. Bash Brothers, Carbon-Fiber Heroes

**Chapter Summary:** Tadashi and Baymax went out patrolling to test out their new skills in the darkest alleys of San Fransokyo.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

**Notes:** Okay, this chapter is pretty much of "filler" but it's going to feature more Tadashi and Baymax's desire to help and protect people, and need more reasons to start a superhero team later into the story.

* * *

><p>Tadashi and Baymax were ready to leave but the inventor realized his costume is missing something. Something that will inspire him to become a hero... He made a super-quick trip to his bedroom and picked up a red handkerchief from his closet without a second thought. He wrapped it around his neck. Now he looks like a potential protector of San Fransokyo.<p>

Making sure Aunt Cass had gone to bed, Tadashi and Baymax sneaked out of the garage and quietly headed down a brick alley before they are seen. Tadashi was so grateful that the neighborhood became quiet and empty at this hour but and his robot continued to remain close to the shadows. He could feel his chest pounding hard against his chest and his hands are shaking-he has never done this before and one mistake would be curtains for him.

Baymax sensed Tadashi's nervousness and placed a comforting hand on his creator's shoulder. "Your heartbeat is accelerated," he told him as he followed closely behind. "You are experiencing shortness of breath and your skin has started perspiring."

"You noticed, huh?" Tadashi asked. He stopped and looked at Baymax with a nervous smile. "I'm a little scared for a while now. Kind of pathetic, huh?"

"It's not pathetic," Baymax said. "It's a natural physical reaction when experiencing nerves, stress, or anxiety. This kind of reaction is driven by the production of hormones and equip you to fight or escape from situations that are dangerous or threatening. This is known as the fight or flight response."

"Well, I won't be fleeing at all," Tadashi said, smiling gratefully. He held Baymax's hand tight. "I'm so glad you're here, Baymax. With you along, I feel a whole lot braver."

They continued walking and sneaking into dark, forgotten alleyways while the evening fog blurs the soft neon lights of the city. Tadashi could feel his fear slowly fading away and being replaced by confidence since he has Baymax to keep him from getting in over his head. His irritation at Baymax contacting his friends earlier was also pushed away from his mind. He then recalled seeing Honey's hurt expression and hearing Wasabi shouting at him after they went through the trouble of seeing him. Tadashi felt his innards squeezed with discomfort; he knows they meant well and he realized he'd been wrong to drive them away.

"Hey Baymax," he began slowly. "Do you think my friends would still accept me after the way I treated them?"

"Wasabi and Honey are your friends, same with Gogo and Fred," the caregiver bot replied. "I don't know the full story of your actions towards them, but you were grieving and it's understandable. However, I believe they will welcome you back with open arms."

Tadashi smiled. The thought of him returning back his normal life and hang out with his friends again after his mission is over gave him hope.

"Tadashi, where are we going? This is not the way to warehouse where the masked man lives."

"We're not going the warehouse tonight," Tadashi answered. "We're just going to patrol around the city a bit and test your new skills. I have this idea that after catching the masked man, we can be sorta protectors of this city. Between healing the sick and injured, and protecting innocents from random crime- we can help so many people."

Baymax tried to keep up with his creator, waddling quickly under his armor. He looked comical. "What place is this?"

"Oh, a place where you can find illegal botfighting rings. You'd be surprised to see how people can get violent if they lose or get hustled."

* * *

><p>Tadashi heard some loud cheering and yelling in the distance and he made Baymax stick closer to him. He saw a large rowdy crowd up ahead, and the two hide behind a dumpster to watch. They saw two tough-looking men wearing identical headbands holding their own robots in the air after they defeated their opponents.<p>

"The winners of Double Bot Battle, going on a seven-winning streak-The Banzai Brothers!" the eye-patched wearing female referee boomed.

The crowds cheered for the two men who kissed their thick wads of cash. _"Ban-zai Bro-thers! Ban-zai Bro-thers!"_

"Who's next?" the taller of the two, obviously the older one, demanded. "Who has the guts to step into the ring to take on our Bonsai Bombers?"

Tadashi saw a few people hiding their bots behind their backs and the remains of the defeated robots being unceremoniously thrown onto a pile of other dismembered opponents. He hissed in disapproval at how people can just treat robots as fighting, destructive machines and then tossing them away like trash.

"C-can we try?" a small timid voice spoke up.

The crowd went quiet and parted away to reveal a young, dark-haired boy who seemed to be around Hiro's age. He is accompanied by a taller, older young man who may be his relative or friend. The two of them are holding their own robots, though the younger boy's bot looked to be bad in shape.

The referee looked at the new competitors and glared at the older boy. "Hey, you. Bot-fighting isn't for little kids and their toy robots. Ask your kid brother to leave."

"He's not my brother, he's my cousin," the older boy corrected her as he adjusted his glasses. "Don't worry, he won't mess up. ... Right, Yasuo?" He turned to his little cousin, giving him a look.

The younger boy nodded as he held his fighting bot nervously close to him. He looked like he didn't want to be here tonight. Tadashi felt as though he wanted to run up to him and take him away from this place.

"You have to pay to play," the older Banzai Brother snarled.

"We have enough," the older cousin said as he takes out several bills. "Are you scared you can't take on the both of us?"

"I like your spunk," the Banzai Brother said, smirking as he crossed his arms. "What do we call you?"

"Yuan and Yasuo Lee. The Y's Guys."

"I th-thought we're supposed to go as the Y-Lee Duo, c-cuz it's a pun on 'wily' and-" the boy named Yasuo whispered to him.

_"Not now, Yasuo."_

"Aww, are you gonna cry when we wreck your widdle robot, widdle boy?" the younger Banzai Brother nastily mocked Yasuo. The crowds laughed with him while the boy blushed with embarrassment.

Tadashi watched the Lee cousins and the Banzai Brothers placed their cash inside a dish. Baymax leaned close to his creator. "The smaller boy seems to be suffering some sort of heart condition," he stated.

"Baymax, you can scan him from this distance?" Tadashi asked him, impressed.

"Hey, Fujita!" the younger Banzai Brother winked at the eye-patched referee. "You wanna hang out with this stud after this? I can show you the fireworks, baby~!"

"In your dreams!" Fujita frowned. "After that crazy stunt you did with my sisters last night, the only fireworks you'll be seeing is after I punch you in the face later afterwards."

The crowed oohed. Tadashi watched as the match began to start. The Banzai Brothers' rocket-shaped robots Bonsai Bombers moved along the ring in rough synchronization, taking on the Lee cousins' unnamed Asian dragon-shaped bots. The Lee cousins don't seem to be fighting together since Yuan's bot keep pushing Yasuo's bot aside.

"Don't get in my way, your job is to distract them," Yuan growled at his cousin sitting next to him.

"B-but I wanna fight too," Yasuo said quietly.

"Bored now," the older Banzai Brother said. "Time to end this fight now, bro!"

The Banzai Brothers then pressed a button on their remotes and shouted in unison, **_"Bonsai Bombers Special Secret Attack- Double Trouble!"_**

Feeling some sort secondhand embarrassment, Tadashi muttered, "Calling your attacks in fight... really?"

The Bonsai Bombers suddenly buzzed and bounched high into the air. Then bots rocket down faster than a bullet towards the Lee cousins' robots. Yasuo quickly managed to moved his dragon-bot out of the way in time. Yuan's bot, however, was not so lucky.

The two bots strike Yuan's bot, causing an explosive impact in the ring. When the smoke cleared, Yuan's dragon-bot was smashed to pieces while the Bonsai Bombers remained standing still without a scratch. The Banzai Brothers laughed cockily at Yuan's flabbergasted face but they didn't notice Yasuo's bot is still active.

Yasuo realizing that this his moment to shine. He moved the joystick of his remote control and his bot spring quickly around the ring, striking Bonsai Bombers's bodies with such deadly force and making surprising huge dents on the bots' backs much to the surprise of everyone in the crowd. The Banzai Brothers desperately tried to move their robots but it seemed the special finishing movie they put in their bots have render them immobile. Tadashi found himself cheering for young Yasuo.

"Looks like I found some weak spots," Yasuo said, smiling. "Shingo... Finish them!"

Yasuo's robot then coiled its long body around both the Bonsai Bombers, trapping them in a tight grip, and tore into their backs with its bite, destroying them completely. The fight is over and the whole audience was stunned. Shingo the dragon-bot made a happy chirp and went back to its owner. Yasuo was beaming with joy but his expression was soon replaced with fear when the Banzai Brothers suddenly moved toward him. He backed into the wall, pale with fear.

"You cheated!" the younger Banzai Brother screamed. "You must be that Hiro Hamada brat who hustled Yama months ago!"

"W-What? Hiro Hamada? I'm n-not him, but I do know him!" Yasuo squeaked. "W-we went to the same high s-school together, but I haven't seen him-_YUAN, HELP ME!"_

"Tough luck," Yuan grumbled as he stood nearby, giving him a dark look. He appeared to be rather pissed that Yasuo allowed him to get his robot destroyed.

Tadashi glanced at the crowd and was outraged that nobody is going to stop two full-grown men ready to beat up a young boy. Yasuo tried to escape but the older Banzai Brother grabbed him by the front of his shirt. The young boy is starting to hyperventilate, but nobody seemed to care to help him. It reminded Tadashi the night he had to rescue Hiro from Yama and his men.

"This shall be a lesson to never mess with us," the older Banzai Brother growled pulling back a tight fist.

Yasuo closed his eyes tight and screamed in terror, bracing for the punch. Tadashi had enough of watching. He jumped out from behind the dumpster.

_"Hold it right there!"_

All heads turned to see a slender young man wearing teal-colored armor and a dark eyeshield covering half of his face. Tadashi stood tall and crossed his arms as he glared to the crowd, especially towards the direction of the Banzai Brothers.

"Two full-grown men picking on a kid because they lost a fight? You're a couple of sore losers," he said, trying to sound all heroic and cool. "And I'm ashamed of all the gambling and mistreatment of robotic inventions going around here."

"Who the heck are you?" The younger Banza Brother demanded. "And what kind of sentai-baloney monkey suit are you wearing?"

"I am..." Tadashi paused, realizing that he never thought of giving himself a nickname since he was so busy trying upgrade himself and Baymax so they can catch the masked man. He thought quickly without trying to look like a fool. "My real name is not important! But you can call me... Big Heroman!"

"That's stupid," Yuan commented, wearing a deadpan expression. "And you took that _Heroman_ name from anime."

"Hey, gimme a break! This is my first night on the job!"

"Don't worry," the younger Banzai Brother said as he pulled out a long lead pipe out of nowhere. "I'll help you get you a new name... How does Minced Meat sounds like?"

He then dashed towards Tadashi, ready to swing it at his head. The inventor moved to a fighting stance.

_**"Lil' Banzai Brother Super Attack- Pipe Bash!"**_

Tadashi was ready for him. As the pipe swing down, the robotics student blocked it with his carbon-fiber gauntlet. Then he used a free hand to strike the man straight into his chin, knocking him backwards. The younger Banzai brother fell down, all knocked out.

"You know, calling out your moves when you're about to attack isn't going to be effective," Tadashi said to him. He then saw the older Banzai Brother furiously approaching him. "Hey, sorry about what I did to your brother-"

"He's not my brother, we're not even related!" The older Banzai Brother shouted. "We just played in the same mariachi band together!"

"Oh, really? Well, that would explain why you're uglier than him."

The Banzai Brother yelled and tried to him him, but Tadashi casually dodged his attacks and blocked his blows. At least the older 'brother' is more skilled in battle. They danced around while the crowd moved back as they continue to watch. Tadashi waited for an opening before landing a kick to the older Banzai Brother's gut, sending him flying into the mounds of dismembered robots. Tadashi thought the fight was over, but he saw several men circling him, with their fists and weapons up. The crowd realized this is getting dangerous and they quietly fled before they get hurt.

"Cocky punk, coming in here and dressed up like a dumb hero," one of them said as he twirl a rusty chain. "Playtime is over for you!"

"Hey, come now. These guys were just gonna beat up a kid-" Tadashi was about to reason with them when he saw Baymax finally made his appearance and stood awkwardly next to him.

"Hello, I am Baymax," the robot greeted them with a wave of his hand.

"Baymax, good timing!" Tadashi exclaimed.

"Is that a giant fighting robot?" one of the men asked.

"Doesn't matter what that thing is-we'll just turn them both into scrap metal!"

The men made their attack. Tadashi instructed Baymax to go for defense and attack when Tadashi ordered him. Tadashi fought off the men with his karate-skilled fists and kicks while Baymax protected his creator from the tougher men with their weapons. He controlled his strength by making sure he doesn't break their bodies like the wooden boards he trained back in the garage. Several men fell unconscious and the remaining few decided to run away in fear. The only remain in the area are Tadashi and Baymax, and the boy Yasuo who, was staring at them in awe as he holds his dragon-bot.

"Wow!" Yasuo said, his jaw dropped. "Y-you were cool. Are y-you two superheroes?"

"In a way, yes," Tadashi smiled and went over to him. He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and crouch down to see him on an eye level. "Listen. This place is dangerous, you can't come here again. In fact, you should quit going to illegal gambling rings all together and play botfighting with kids your own age just to be safe."

"I know, but..." Yasuo trailed off, looking embarrassed. "The reason I came here is because Yuan forced me, and... I thought I could see Hiro Hamada."

Tadashi was taken surprise by this. Why does this kid want to meet his little brother?

"W-we're not in the same class so I don't know him that well," Yasuo continued as he played with his dragon-bot with his hands. He stared down at his feet shyly. "But we talked b-before in high school and he inspired me with his genius and creativity, and got me to take up b-botfighting while I was trying to deal with my asthma and heart c-condition."

He paused to catch his breath. A faint blush appeared on his face. "He said that he can't wait we b-battle each other with our bots, but I haven't heard from him ever since he graduated while I was still a freshman."

"He..." Tadashi wanted to tell Yasuo that Hiro died in an accident, but he couldn't bring himself to tell him the truth. "I bet he'd be so thrilled to meet you again and fight with someone like you. Your robot was amazing in that ring, by the way."

"Really?" Yasuo's eyes sparkled with joy. "M-my Shingo is alright, be he needed some adjustments..."

Just then, his cousin Yuan appeared and grabbed his arm. "There you are! I've been looking all over you. We're going home or the cops will be here."

"Just a moment," Tadashi stopped him. He crossed his arms. "I've been observing the way you treated your cousin earlier, and I don't like how you allowed those two men ready to hurt him. You better shape up your attitude and learn to appreciate him while he's still around, otherwise you'll regret someday."

Yuan looked a little ashamed for being told off. He sighed and looked at Yasuo.

"So, um... Your robot fought good, and we did win thanks to you," he said in an awkward tone. "So, I guess... sorry?"

Yasuo just nodded and held his hand. "Let's go home, cousin. Th-thanks for bringing me here."

The Lee cousins were about to leave but Baymax stopped them. He then offered Yasuo a lollipop which the young boy happily took and thanked the huge robot. The scene reminded Tadashi of Baymax giving Hiro a lollipop. While his heart ached as usual, he was smiling.

* * *

><p>Tadashi and Baymax returned home without trouble and they went upstairs without disturbing Aunt Cass. Tadashi decided to leave both his and Baymax's new armor in the garage so there's no risk of them being discovered. The inventor changed into his bed clothes and fell on his bed. It's been an exhausting day and so many things happened. He looked up to his bedside table and saw the memorial photo of Hiro. He reached out and takes the photo so he can stare longingly into his brother's haunting face.<p>

Baymax walked to his inventor. "Tonight was rather interesting, Tadashi," he said. "I am slowly beginning to understand how karate makes me a better healthcare companion."

"I'm glad you thought of that," he said as he placed the photo back on top of the table before curling up in his bed.

"May I ask why the sudden interest of becoming a heroic acts?" The caregiver bot asked curiously.

"Oh, well..." Tadashi sat up and looked at his robot directly. "Hiro was a huge fan of sentai and fighting robots, and all the cool stuff kids his age loves. I just thought that... maybe it'll feel like he's alive if I upgraded you and dressed up as a superhero even though he's gone. Learning these new skills, the armor suits... It's like we're becoming heroes to not only catch the masked man and bring my brother justice, but also cement our roles as classic guardians of this city. I regretted a lot of things, but not this one. I feel like I can make so much of a difference if I take action."

Baymax listened to all this before patting Tadashi's head affectionately. "You must be so tired, your body needs eight hours of sleep," he said.

"I know, but... I haven't gotten good sleep lately," Tadashi sighed as he rested his head back on the pillow. "And it's not because I'm unable to fall asleep. It's the nightmares... I keep waking every time that night replays in my head. I keep dreaming of losing my brother again and again..."

Baymax left his side for a bit before getting a paper and pencil, and giving it to him. Tadashi stared at it in confusion.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Imagery rehearsal treatment is a promising cognitive behavioral therapy for recurrent nightmares, or nightmares caused by PTSD," Baymax replied. "It's a simple but a very effective process."

"Um, I don't know..." Tadashi become reluctant. He always believed that nothing would help him sleep peacefully, but since Baymax assisted him earlier tonight in the alleyways, he will try out this treatment. "... Alright, how does this work?"

Baymax explained, holding up his finger in a professional manner, "First, you jot down a brief description of a recent nightmare. If your most recent nightmare is too upsetting to think about, pick another. Second, think of a way to change the nightmare. I suggest to rely on your intuition to make an appropriate change. And then third, set aside a few minutes each day to imagine this altered version of the nightmare. Simply paint a mental picture of the altered version."

"So, that's it?" Tadashi asked, raising an eyebrow. "I just write down a nightmare and change it and picture it in my mind? That's crazy." He sighed and rubbed his neck. "Alright, big guy. I'll do this for you."

"Not for me. Do this for you."

Tadashi chuckled as he tried to write down his recurring nightmare, but it felt painful to write down the details since the memory was still fresh in his mind. The hardest part is making the right change of the nightmare; how does one change a blazing inferno into something more pleasant? He racked his brain but he came up with nothing.

"I need examples of a good change," he said to Baymax.

"How about a pleasant memory, something from your childhood?" the robot suggested.

Tadashi think again until he thought up something perfect. He wrote down the details of the dream, before settling comfortably in his bed. "Let's hope this works, buddy."

Baymax pulled the blanket over his creator and patted his head good-night. "I will be nearby in case you need me." He then walked over to his charging station, leaving Tadashi alone.

The inventor closed eyes and breathed deeply, letting himself fall into sleep and focusing on his re-imagined nightmare...

* * *

><p>"Hiro!" Tadashi's echoed voiced called out to his brother while the showcase burned before him. Why did he leave him alone? He has to go in there to save him!<p>

Tadashi ran up the stairs, feeling the intense heat on his skin.

He was halfway there when the explosion happened, and he was thrown back in slow-motion.

_**No! My brother's in there! No, this can't be happening... Please, let me have a nice dream-!**_

_Wait... My brother can't be in there... The fire didn't happen at all... There was no showcase..._

He was still continuing backwards as the light engulfed him completely. When he landed, he saw orange, red, and yellow everywhere.

But they weren't flames.

"Tadashi! ... Tadashi!"

Tadashi sat up and saw Hiro standing on a swing, moving back and forth while laughing at him. Tadashi looked down and saw him lying in a huge pile of fallen leaves. He realized this was autumn.

"Catch me, knucklehead!" Hiro shouted as he leaps from the swing and fell into his big brother's arms.

The two disappeared into the leaves and when they finally emerged, they were eight years younger again. The two laughed blissfully as they throw and rolled around in the leaves without a care in the world.

Then they heard their Aunt Cass in the distance.

"Boys, it's lunch. Get your spicy chicken wings!"

"Last one's there a rotten egg!" Eleven-year-old Tadashi said, already making a head start.

Six-year-old Hiro tried to follow him but he tripped over and cried in pain. Tadashi stopped and hurried back to him.

"Hiro?! Are you alright?"

Hiro suddenly gave a cheeky grin. "Sucker!" he stuck his tongue out at him and ran ahead. There was no scratch on him at all.

Tadashi rolled his eyes but he joined up with his family. The three of them sat on a picnic blanket and enjoyed their hot wings while they watch more orange leaves fall around them. Hiro yawned and placed his head on Tadashi's lap before he dozed off. Tadashi didn't mind and stroked his fluffy hair.

It was the most perfect day ever.

* * *

><p>When Tadashi woke up the following morning, it was bright outside his window. He felt strangely refreshed. For the first time in weeks, he didn't wake up feeling terrified and helpless. He saw Baymax waiting nearby.<p>

"Did you sleep well, Tadashi?" he asked in a kind tone. "No troubling dreams?"

Tadashi ran a hand through his hair, feeling oddly peaceful. "I think so," he said. He thought of something; he has to go find his aunt. "Will you excuse me, I'll be right back."

The inventor walked down the stairs and saw his aunt putting away some stuff before she opens the cafe. She was surprised to see him up.

"Tadashi, hey," Cass greeted him with a smile. "Do you want any breakfast, sweetie?"

"Um, yeah, I do actually," Tadashi said. "But I'll fix it myself, don't worry about it. Anyways, I have something to ask from you."

Cass approached, giving him her full attention. "Sure, what is it?"

Tadashi inhaled and hold her shoulders. "Can you fix me a plate of your spicy chicken wings tonight for dinner? I feel like having some."

"Wait, are you sure?" Cass asked in surprise. "I thought you lost interest in them."

"Well, something came up and... I had a good sleep and I feel like eating some. It's a good feeling!" Tadashi tried to explain the best he can to her, Cass finally got his message. She made a big smiled and pulled her nephew into a tight hug.

"Honey, I'm so glad to hear that," she said. "I'll make plenty tonight and we'll be feeling them tomorrow in the morning. Anyways, I gotta go. Got a cafe to run."

Aunt Cass skipped off, squealing and rambling happily. Tadashi felt Mochi curling up against his legs, purring with joy. The inventor realized things are starting to go better for him. However, he still has a masked man to catch. Tonight after dinner, he and Baymax will be returning to the warehouse.

* * *

><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>

**Notes: **The characters Fujita and the Banzai Brothers are more or less based on the deleted villains from the Big Hero 6 artbook, and I've been wanting to put them somewhere in a fic.

Here's a fun trivia: When Tadashi calls himself Big Heroman, I made a reference to a real manga/anime series called "Heroman". It's about a boy and his robot (sounds familiar to BH6, eh?) and the story is written by Stan Lee! There is even a caricature of Stan Lee who appears multiple times in the anime and manga.


	7. Demons of Speed

**Chapter Summary:** Tadashi and Baymax return to the warehouse, though they didn't count on Tadashi's friends showing up unexpectedly.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

* * *

><p>As Tadashi downs his breakfast, Baymax came downstairs to see him since Tadashi didn't return like he promised earlier.<p>

"Your mood seem to be elevated though not so much, but it's an improvement," Baymax observed after scanning his creator. "I advise not to eat your food too quickly to prevent indigestion, bloating, and flatulence."

Tadashi's face went red but he started chewing his food slowly at Baymax's suggestion. His eyes traveled down the newspaper to read some news; he read how a couple of employees of Krei Tech Industries went missing two days ago when they went home together after work. Tadashi stared at the name 'Krei', and he remembered the long-nosed entrepreneur who tried to buy Hiro's microbots at the showcase. Feeling mild annoyed, he remembered how Krei almost tried to walk off with a single microbot if Tadashi hadn't spoke up and stop him. It was also the very same microbot that wasn't stolen with the rest by that man in the Kabuki mask. Tadashi recalled how Professor Callaghan didn't seem to like him and told him how Krei would "ignore sound science and cut corners to get where he was today", thus giving Tadashi a reason why he wouldn't manufacture caregiver bots with Krei Tech.

Tadashi finished his meal and washed it down with orange juice. The news of Krei's missing employees were pushed out of his head as he focused on other important things.

"You ready for another round of karate practice, Baymax?" Tadashi asked as he cleared away the dishes.

"If it would help you stabilize your emotional distress, I am ready," Baymax replied.

Tadashi smiled. Just then he heard his cellphone ringing upstairs. "Wait right here, buddy."

The inventor hurried upstairs and picked up his cellphone. He recognized the Godzilla scream ringtone. Reluctantly, he turned it on and begin to speak.

"Hey, Fred," he said. It felt so weird to speak to the college mascot after screaming at him to leave his home yesterday.

"Tadashi, thank goodness you picked up!" Fred said, he sound relieved to hear Tadashi's voice. "It's been a while since we talked, right? Sorry for not coming by last night when you contacted me. Something came up, and-"

"Fred, will you please cut to the chase and tell me why you're calling me?" Tadashi snapped, his irritation returned though it wasn't as bad last time.

"Okay, okay. Did you see my blog recently? It's been all over Nicotube! Apparently, someone dressed up like a sentai and beat up some guys over at Red Sakura alley after breaking up a botfighting ring. Someone had filmed the fight and it's gotten over thousands of views overnight!"

Tadashi immediately turned on his computer and checked online. Fred is right, someone had used a phone camera to film his and Baymax's fight against those punks. The video quality and audio is terrible but he was glad nobody would at least recognize his and Baymax's faces and voices. He was almost worried that people might use the video to recognize him. He had to admit, he felt a little pleased that he was considered a hero. He scanned down to read some comments of some "eyewitnesses" who claimed they've seen "Big Heroman" doing some corny sentai poses and shouting off moves in addition to kicking "butts" and saving a kid.

"I **never** did such a thing," Tadashi mumbled. _Where are people getting this idea...?_

"Never did what?" Fred asked. Tadashi's heart skipped a beat, his friend is still on the line!

"Oh, nothing! I was talking to... my cat."

"You talk to your cat? Man, you're weird."

"Oh, and wearing underwear for four days straight isn't?" Tadashi asked, smirking.

"It's called _recycling_. But, Tadashi, aren't you excited! We have a real superhero in the city! How cool is that?!"

"Yeah, it does sound amazing..."

"I hope I can meet Big Heroman and get his autograph. Do you think he would be okay if I let him sign my underwear?"

Tadashi blushed and shivered in disgust. "You're just looking for another excuse not to do your laundry!"

"You caught me, man," Fred laughed. "Seriously, Tadashi-A_** REAL**_ SUPERHERO." Fred is starting to sound like he's having a hero crush; the last time Tadashi heard Fred sound like this, he was rambling non-stop about some comic superheroine named Fusion Girl and it annoyed the others to the point they avoid mentioning her name or the comic series she starred in if he's around.

"Well, if you like him so much, why don't you just marry him?"

Fred laughed sarcastically on his end. "Hilarious. Hey, since today is Saturday, you wanna hang out? I don't think the other could join us cuz I'm pretty they had their part-time jobs to go to. It'll just be the two of us, but it's going to be fun! Whaddaya say, Tadashi?"

Tadashi wanted to say yes; a part of him longed to spend a long afternoon with his friend and hang out in karaoke boxes or have private parties like they always did before the showcase incident. He really missed those days. And despite how odd Fred appeared and acted, and isn't student who is brilliant in any scientific field, Tadashi really enjoyed his company. A small part of him wanted to tell Fred that he's "Big Heroman", and maybe ask him to help him catch the masked man. But something pulled him back and he felt empty all over.

_No, I can't put his life or anyone else in danger to help me. This is my business, so I'll be the one to take care of this. _

"I'm going to say no on this one, Fred. I'm... I'm occupied with something else."

He heard silence over at the other end before Fred finally spoke up. "Alright, I'll come by tomorrow. If that's alright with you-" Tadashi didn't wait for him to finish. He hung up and changed out of his bed clothes in silence. When he came down, Baymax is waiting for him.

"You look distracted, what seems to be the trouble?" the robot asked.

"Oh, nothing's wrong, I'm just thinking," Tadashi replied, trying to smile. "Anyways, we got some training to do."

* * *

><p>Down in the garage, Tadashi and Baymax continued practicing karate and sparring each other in their upgraded suits. While their patrol last night was a success, the inventor thinks he and Baymax could do better and he was glad the two of them didn't return to the warehouse last night since the two still need a lot of practice and Tadashi believes he could add a few adjustments to his suit. After looking up some videos of ninjas fighting, Tadashi gets an idea of using retractable metal cables which can be stored and shot out from his gauntlets and they can be highly versatile in battle. With them, he would be able to perform considerable feats of acrobatics, easily maneuvering around locations which could not be reached by normal human means.<p>

It took him a few hours to make the cables but several more to practice them; he had to learn to make sure they the cable hooks hit and grab hold tight onto the target without falling off. Any whiplashes from the cables snapping back could have left some scars on his body if he didn't wear his armor. Though he was determined to become stronger for the sake of catching the masked man and stop him for defiling Hiro's memory by using the microbots.

The entire garage was a mess when the sun is starting to set in the afternoon, but Tadashi has now learn to swing and maneuver around the garage quickly and smoothly like a ninja, using his feet and legs to support himself against the walls and to protect him from the impact. Baymax, his armor removed, watched him while he sweep the floor full covered in dust from the wooden and cinder blocks he practiced on.

"You are moving way too faster and higher," the caregiver bot said. "Please exercise caution, Tadashi, or you will run the risk of bodily harm."

At that moment, Tadashi's cable finally gave out and he gave a scream as he fell. Luckily, Baymax was there to catch him with his balloon-like vinyl arms. Tadashi was panting and sweating heavily from the workout, but he was thrilled of how successful his experiment worked.

"Thanks for catching me," Tadashi smiled as he got down from Baymax's arms. He gulped down a glass of cool water before flopping on a nearby swivel chair. "You know, Baymax... since you scan people from a good distance, I might need you to scan the masked man next time we meet him. Can you do that for me, buddy?"

"I am programmed to assess everyone's health-care needs," Baymax stated.

"Great! Your readings might give us clues to his real identity," Tadashi nodded. He cracked his knuckles and wiped the sweat from his brow. "We're ready to catch the guy. We'll leave after Aunt Cass goes to bed. In the mean time, better return to your charging station and get your batteries full."

Relaxing, Tadashi began to idly check out other scrapped invention designs Hiro has in his computer files. After checking the dates when they've been made, apparently they were made during Hiro's leisure breaks when building the microbots. Does this kid ever built anything other than robots? He thought, shaking his head. However, some creations did caught his eye and they seemed more advanced compared to the normal battle bots used for average botfighting.

He found one robot design with electro-magnetic disc wheels used to increase speed, velocity and agility; the same discs can also be used as dangerous weapons capable of causing quite a lot of damage once flung to a specific target. Once the target is hit (if at all) the discs magnetically return to the suit, enabling instant reuse.

Another design shows a robot with laser-induced plasma blades which can be retracted in the forearms; Tadashi guessed this robot would use its razor sharp blades to slice through most, if not all, its opponents with relative ease.

A third design pops up and it shows a robot that appeared to have a mini chemical lab inside full of advanced polyethylene shells. There's a special remote controller that comes with this robot with a touch screen encoded with the periodic table. The syringes inside the robot inject the chosen chemicals into the "chem-capsules" before shooting them out from the robot's body; the concoctions include hardening foam to halt movement, cushioning foam to break falls, ice to freeze enemies, and smokescreens for camouflage.

The last robot design seems rather interesting. It reminded him of the dragon-bots he saw last night, thought it appears more kaiju-like in appearance. Its exoskeleton enables robot to jump incredibly high, and it contains a flamethrower installed in its mouth. The body is also flame-resistant and is equipped with claws.

Tadashi was so impressed with all these creations and a small part of him wished Hiro was still around so he could tell him how talented he was to come up with these inventions. Even the inventor couldn't think up something this creative and he began to feel jealous of his brother...

It was strange but Tadashi realized that these four designs reminded him of his college friends and their specialties. _Maybe Hiro was inspired by them?_ he thought. He did introduce his brother to his friends on his first visit to SFIT, and Hiro has taken interest in them. Tadashi found himself wistfully remembering the months his friends often came by the Hamada household a couple of times for pizza lunches, and to check up on whatever Hiro is doing. All five of them encouraged the obsessed kid to continue his invention, and even provide him tips on how to save his schematics and progresses of his showcase project. To see Hiro enjoying the college group's company gave Tadashi so much happiness since Hiro rarely made friends because he was often a loner due to his high intelligence.

His stomach suddenly began to make a loud growl and Tadashi realized it was almost dinner time. He decided to take a quick shower first so his aunt won't ask questions why he's covered in dust and sweat.

* * *

><p>Tadashi just covered the armor suits with a tarp when Aunt Cass walked into the garage. "Tadashi-"<p>

"Aunt Cass!" Tadashi yelled, and moved in front to hide the bulky tarp so she wouldn't notice it. He puts on a forced cheerful smile. "I didn't know you'll be coming here!"

"I just wanted to see how's my college man doing," she said as she playfully punched his arm. "I haven't seen you all day. Have you been working on some school homework."

"Oh! Yes, I am," the inventor nodded quickly. "I've been very busy..."

Just then, Baymax rose from his red suitcase and approached the two. He looked down at Aunt Cass and waved at her. "Hello, I am Baymax. I am Tadashi's personal healthcare companion."

Aunt Cass' eyes went wide and approached the balloon robot in awe. While she was checking it out, Tadashi used this opportunity to slide the bulky tarp near the corner so his aunt wouldn't see it.

"Is this a robot, Tadashi?" she asked curiously.

"Yup, I built him at SFIT," Tadashi replied, trying to sound casual. "His name is Baymax, he's a caregiver robot."

"This is so incredible!" Aunt Cass said, grinning. "He reminds me of giant marshmallow, ohhh he's so adorable~!" Then she paused. "What does he mean when he said he's your personal healthcare companion?"

Before Tadashi can reply, Baymas spoke up. "I am helping Tadashi recovering personal loss and improvement of his emotional state state."

_"Baymax, shush!"_ Tadashi mouthed Baymax to be quiet behind his aunt; he didn't want Baymax to reveal his plans to catch some dangerous criminal who was responsible for the fire and theft of Hiro's microbots. However, Cass didn't seem to notice her nephew behind her and she looked saddened. But she gave the robot a grateful smile.

"Well... Don't give up on him, Baymax. He definitely needs someone like you," she said softly and then turning around, a bright smile on her face. "So, I better start up those chicken wings, they can't cook themselves!" Before she leaves, she gave Tadashi another hug.

Tadashi watches her walk out of the garage and a small guilt began eating him inside. She doesn't know what her remaining nephew is planning to do, and Tadashi is determined to survive his encounter with the masked man. Aunt Cass lost so many of her family before she raised him and Hiro, and he doesn't want to see her unhappy again.

* * *

><p>After dinner was finished and when Cass went to bed early, Tadashi and Baymax don their suits and quietly sneaked out. The two made their way back to the warehouse, never noticing that a car was following them with every step of the way. After what it seemed like forever, Tadashi finally found the dark, abandoned alleyway that leads straight to the warehouse and saw the building up ahead.<p>

Tadashi and Baymax stood outside the warehouse. The robotics student was shivering a little. He was getting so scared, he wanted to turn back. But he had to move forward for Hiro's sake.

"Your heart rate has increased," said Baymax.

"Sshhh," Tadashi whispered as he checked the rusty irons holding the door closed. "Okay, time to use those upgrades."

Then they heard a car approaching and were suddenly drowned in bright light. Frozen in place, Tadashi tried to see who caught them when the driver turned off the headlights. To his shock, Tadashi saw his four friends stepping out of a van and Wasabi is the driver.

"Tadashi!" Honey called out to him.

"Wait, what are you guys doing here?!" Tadashi yelled. He turned to Baymax but the robot said, "I didn't contact them just like what you told me to."

"Baymax, is that you?" Wasabi asked as he and the others came closer.

"No, get out of here! You're not safe here!" Tadashi tried to push them away. They had no idea what danger they were walking into and the longer they stay here, the sooner the masked man will find them.

"Baymax, why is Tadashi wearing carbon-fiber underpants?" Gogo asked the robot.

"He's trying to catch a criminal," Baymax replied.

"Criminal?" Gogo turned to the inventor and stared into him with a raised eyebrow. "I knew there was something familiar about the mysterious guy who interrupted the botfighting ring from the Nicotube video."

"You knew it was me?" Tadashi was shocked. "What gave it away?"

Gogo stuck a thumb at Baymax's direction. "Honestly. How many robots do you ever see this round and big in San Fransokyo?" she asked.

"I also know karate," Baymax stated as he swing his arms.

Fred leaned closer to Tadashi, his jawdropped and he was making low panting noises. He look starstrucked. "Tadashi, you're Big Heroman...?"

"Yes, sorry for not letting you know earlier, but you can't stay-" Tadashi was then interrupted.

_"Can you sign my underwear?"_

"Tadashi," Wasabi began. "What's going on, man?"

"This is what have you been doing, Tadashi?" Gogo said. "You and Baymax dressing up like heroes and taking down petty crooks?"

_"It's none of your business what I do!"_ Tadashi hissed. He took a deep breath. "Look, you guys need to go-"

"No," Honey said firmly as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't... don't push us away,Tadashi. We're here for you."

Tadashi stammered in frustration but then Baymax interrupted him.

"Those who suffer a loss require support from friends and loved ones," Baymax spoke to the entire group. "Who would like to share their feelings first?"

Fred immediately raised a hand and stepped forward. "Ooh, I'll go! My name is Fred, and it's been thirty days since my last-" he was stopped when Tadashi screamed.

_**"Enough!"**_

Everyone became quiet and stared at Tadashi with concerned expressions. The latter breathed heavily before removing his helmet so he can look at them clearly.

"Guys, you cannot be here," he said to the four. "I have to do something that's really important, and it's going to be dangerous."

"Well, you're not going anywhere without us," Gogo told him.

Tadashi glared at her. "Yes. I am."

Thinking quickly, his gauntlet shot a cable above their heads and stuck into a wall near an open window. He flew up into the air and jumped inside the window with ease. He ignored his friends' shouts and moved down the rickety stairs as fast and silent as he can.

* * *

><p>He peered into the dark warehouse and it seemed more foreboding and quiet than it was in the daylight. Tadashi pulled out the petri dish containing the single microbot and noticed it was shaking before it fell silent. The masked man is somewhere inside.<p>

Heart pounding wildly, he pocketed the petri dish and retraced his steps and found the area where the oil drums holding the microbots. To Tadashi's horror, hundreds of oil drums filled with microbots appeared before his eyes. It seemed the masked man has found ways to fixed the machine inside the tarp tent. He found the wall full of mysterious papers again and decide to read some information that might be useful. He found another name, "Akuma Island" and a pictures of what to be various scientists. He immediately recognized two of them, since he saw their pictures and names on the newspaper this morning: they were the two Krei Tech employees who were confirmed to be missing.

"What's going on here?" he wondered out loud.

He then heard a loud crash. It sounded like someone had smashed the front door open. He turned around and saw Baymax and his friends rushing into the warehouse. Baymax must have punched down the door.

"There you are, you idiot! What have you been thinking?" Gogo demanded. She looked ready to strangle him.

"Hey, doing that stunt with the cable would have hurt you!" Wasabi said.

"Baymax, you let them inside?!" Tadashi shouted at his robot who seemed unfazed by this. "Your job is to make sure they won't be endangered!"

"You left me behind as well," Baymax reminded him. "I cannot abandon my patient-"

_**"Holy mother of Megazon!"**_ Fred suddenly screamed.

A low, angry buzz and metallic clicking rose behind them. Everyone turned to see the thousands of microbots slowly rising out from the oil drums in a menacing swarm. Everyone stared in frozen horror, except for Honey; she slowly pulled out her camera and took a photo. The flash seemed to alert the microbots and threw an empty oil drum at them. Wasabi screamed like a little girl and braced himself for the blow. However, Baymax quickly caught the oil drum and tossed it aside. The microbots began throwing more oil drums at the group, though Baymax keep catching them and hitting them to protect the other.

The others, meanwhile, grabbed Tadashi and forcefully pulled him along to prevent him from getting hurt. They ran out of the warehouse and piled inside the van much to Tadashi's protest.

"Let me go! Baymax and I can handle this!" Tadashi shouted.

They heard a faint THUMP and Baymax's body suddenly crashed through the wall of the warehouse and landed on the roof of Wasabi's car.

"Oh no," Baymax said.

"Baymax, are you alright?" Tadashi asked.

"My scanners have been mildly damaged, I was unable to scan him. I apologize."

Tadashi swore.

Then a figure wearing a Kabuki mask and a black trench coat appeared at the hole made by Baymax's body. He was supported by the microbots and he looked dangerous. On cue, Wasabi floored it and the van zoomed away with masked man and the microbots right behind it. Gogo narrowed her eyes and turned to Tadashi.

"Tadashi. Explain. Now!" she demanded.

"He stole Hiro's microbots, he started the fire!" Tadashi said, trying to keep his cool. "I don't know him, but I had to catch him!"

"I don't know about you- but _he's_ trying to catch _us_!" Wasabi shouted as he tried to drive through the narrow streets.

"Hard left!" Gogo shouted, and they turned a corner with tires squealing. Microbots stream toward them as the masked man tries to catch up with them.

Fred stare at him from the backseat. "A mask and a black suit... We're under attack from a super villain, people! I mean, how cool is that?!" he grinned excitedly.

"This isn't a comic book story, Fred!" Tadashi cried.

"Oh, you dressing up a sentai to take him down is?" Gogo snorted. Then the car jolted into a stop. She turned to Wasabi, nearly speechless. "Why have we stopped?"

"The light's red!" Wasabi exclaimed.

Tadashi groaned while he listened to Gogo screaming at Wasabi about how they are no red lights in a car chase. They started moving again and they whipped into another street. Tadashi was surprised to see that there are no police cars around at this late hour, or nobody else awake to see this strange but scary incident.

Wasabi leaned out from the car window, looked toward the masked man and yelled, "Hey, why are you trying to kill us?!"

"We saw too much! It's classic villain stuff!" Fred replied.

Honey tried to keep everyone calm with a nervous smile. "Let's not jump to conclusions, we don't know if he's trying to kill us!"

At that moment, the masked man threw a car at them and either Wasabi was quick enough to maneuver out of the way, or the man had a poor aim. Either way, the car missed them. Gogo couldn't take another second. She took out her gum and stuck it into Tadashi's helmet much to his surprise.

"Hold this," she told him in a furious tone.

She pushed back Wasabi's seat and slide into his lap. She grabbed the wheel and slammed the gas pedal with her foot. The car hurtled forward.

Tadashi took Gogo's seat in the front. "Guys, we have to lose him quick! He's gaining on us!" he yelled.

Gogo nodded and whipped the van through the streets with expert ease, keeping her cool. Tadashi glanced out the window and saw the masked man. His heart was beating rapidly and was shaking with fear and anger. _He was so close_... Images of the fire and the explosion flashed before Tadashi's eyes. That man was responsible for Hiro and Callaghan's deaths.

_**He killed my brother!**_ Tadashi thought as rage began to fill up inside his chest. I have to destroy him!

Without thinking, Tadashi kicked down the passenger's door.

"Tadashi, what are you doing?!" Honey screamed worriedly.

"Stop the car, now! I have to stop him!" he yelled in response. He was about to use the cable to jump out when Baymax grabbed him by the back and pushed him back into the seat. "Baymax-?!"

"Tadashi, don't," Baymax said. Then he buckled up Tadashi in his seat. "Seat belts save lives," he added in a cheery tone.

"Are you crazy? He's trying to kill us!" Wasabi scolded Tadashi, but the latter didn't seem to listen to him.

Suddenly the masked man and the microbots disappeared. For a moment, everyone thought he has given up. Then they found themselves moving up a ramp made of microbots. The ramp turned into a tunnel and it was closing in on them. Gogo zoomed faster towards the exit as everyone else braced. Tadashi looked around and for one moment, he saw Hiro sitting between Fred and Honey in the backseat.

The van broke through the microbots and it fell nosefirst into the waters of the bay. The masked man watched it sink and disappear. Then he and the microbots retreated into the darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>


	8. Immortals Don't Exist

**Chapter Summary:** Tadashi decides to start a superhero team to catch the masked man.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Eight Years Ago.<strong>_

_"Ow, it stings!"_ six-year-old Hiro wailed. His big brother was cleaning his scrapes as the two sat in their bedroom._ "Stop, you're making my skin melt!"_

"You're exaggerating," eleven-year-old Tadashi said. "If you're a big boy, don't cry over this much."

Hiro pouted. "Says the guy who screams and begs Aunt Cass not to take him to the dentist."

Tadashi rolled his and just laughed while he applied the bandages on Hiro's skin. Then he takes out a small bag of gummy bears and hands it to Hiro.

"Here, Hiro," he said, smiling. "You were noisy, but this is a reward for letting me treat you."

Hiro's eyes shone bright and he happily opens the bag after thanking his brother. Tadashi leaned back as he watched Hiro fill his cheeks with colorful gummy candy. He thought back to the time earlier when he chased away a group of older boys after he caught them kicking Hiro to the ground and teasing him. He felt disgusted, why would someone pick on a little kid like that?

"Hiro, are you really okay?" he asked softly. "Those guys didn't really do anything else to you, did they?"

Hiro became quiet as he chewed his candy slowly. Then he averted his gaze away; his face filled with shame.

"It's nothing, we just had a little fight," the messy-haired boy said quietly.

"Nothing? Hiro, they're bullies!" Tadashi said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Why are you excusing their actions?"

Hiro flinched away and he gripped the gummy bear pack in his hands. Then he muttered something under his breath and Tadashi had to make him repeat it.

"They called me a nerd because I'm smarter than them," Hiro finally said, his voice sound shaky and broken.

Tadashi stared at him in shock and he felt anger at the boys who hurt Hiro's body and confidence. He pulled Hiro into a hug and rub his back while Hiro's entire body shook.

"They're just jerks, Hiro," he told them kindly. "They don't understand how brilliant you are because you solved a mathematical theorem and you're going to a higher-grade school even though you're pretty young. You're a genius, Hiro, be proud of that. Sure, you'll be taking the same classes with me and along with older kids, but I'll be there to guide you the entire time."

Tadashi became quiet when he saw Hiro still looked sad and unsure. He then gets an idea and pulls up Hiro's shirt without warning.

"Hey, what are you doing-?!" Hiro demanded.

Not replying, Tadashi blew a huge raspberry on Hiro's belly. The little boy burst out laughing and kicked his feet happily as he tried to push his brother away.

"Tadashi, you meanieee! St-stop-ahahaha!" he giggled.

"No way!" Tadashi snickered as he tickled Hiro's sides.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Today.<strong>_

Tadashi's life flashed before his eyes. He couldn't remember what exactly happened until he noticed the van is quickly filling up with water. He quickly held his breath before he got completely submerged. He blinked through the faintly lit seawater and he found out the car had landed at the bottom of the bay. A horrible thought brought a cold child down his spine: his friends! He saw them struggling to escape from inside the car and he hastily tried to unlock his seatbelt so he can save them. If they die, it's because of his fault. He should have made them leave earlier before he went inside the warehouse. Now they're going to drown because of him.

He felt his head getting lighter and his chest ready to explode. No, he can't die yet! He has to save his friends... His aunt's waiting for him... He needs to catch the masked man...

Then he heard the faint sound of something heavy falling into the sand nearby. He looked around to see Baymax's white hand reaching for him.

Baymax's balloon body, now free of the heavy carbon-fiber armor, burst into the surface of the dark water and bobbed onto his back. The the five college friends cling on too of his stomach, coughing and gasping for air. They were all saved.

"Your injuries require my attention," Baymax told them. "And your body temperatures are low."

Tadashi sighed with relief, seeing all his friends saved in time though his heart is still hammering after their frightening encounter with the masked man. Whoever it was under the Kabuki mask, he came close to killing them. It was a shame he wasn't able to catch him tonight, but at least Tadashi learned some new clues. The robotics student decided to focus on the group's safety before he decides what's the next plan.

"We should get out of here," Tadashi said to the others, his teeth chattering. They need to get warm up as quickly as possible before they catch hypothermia. He notice Fred's face brightening up.

"I know a place," the school mascot said.

* * *

><p>Within an hour, Tadashi and his friends were all leaning up against Baymax's warm body while sitting in the middle of Fred's room. The others were shocked to learn that Fred's home is located in the most exclusive suburb of San Fransokyo. Tadashi wasn't surprised since he already knew Fred being secretly rich long before the others did, though he never ventured inside the huge mansion before until now.<p>

"It's like spooning a warm marshmallow~" Fred sighed as lay on top of Baymax's back.

"Hmm, it's making me feel less bad for losing my van," Wasabi agreed, though the mention of his lost car made him sniffled a bit. "How am I going to explain my kid sister that we don't have a car now."

"Hey, I'll help replace it!" Fred suggested. "Besides, that's how I was able to help get some of the materials Tadashi need to build Baymax!"

"... That would explain why Tadashi tolerated you enough to hang out with us," Wasabi muttered. "I thought of a different reason..."

Tadashi had removed all of his carbon-fiber armor and he's now pacing around the room, looking at the picture of the mysterious bird symbol he drew as well as words he read from the papers he remembered from the warehouse. He managed to explain to them his discoveries in the warehouse, including the strange conversation he overheard from the mysterious woman.

"You guys seriously don't know what this symbol and Silent Sparrow means?" Tadashi asked, looking at his friends.

"Tadashi, if we know, we'd tell you," Gogo said as she popped a new bubblegum. "The only thing we know is that Akuma Island, and it's that island located off-coast from this city."

"Well, then... _what_ do we know about Akuma Island?" Tadashi asked, waiting for some answers. His clueless friends looked at each other. They were stumped.

Tadashi sighed and flopped on the couch, running a hand through his damp hair.

"Whoever the masked man is, he's using my brother's microbots and he wants something to do with that island."

"Tadashi," Honey and the others joined him on the couch after they're warmed enough. "Are you really sure this is the same man who started the fire?"

"I know it's him," Tadashi said, clenching the paper tight. "He didn't seem to care if people got hurt or killed as long he got those microbots."

"But there was a lot of people who watched Hiro's demonstration," Wasabi pointed out. "Who would be so desperate to steal his invention?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Fred suddenly spoke up. The was a glint in his eyes.

He dropped various comic books into their hands and began naming off different supervillains and criminals who are secretly millionaires. Then he turned on the giant TV screen to show his number-one suspect for the masked man.

"Our Mister Kabuki Guy is none other than... Alistair Krei!" he exclaimed.

Everyone gaped at him.

"You're kidding!" Wasabi cried, raising an eyebrow.

"He was at the showcase that day, remember?" Fred reminded them. "He wanted to buy the microbots but Hiro turned him down. Now he stole them!"

"That's a good point, Freddie," Honey said. "But... he's kind of high profile, isn't he?"

"And if he's that masked lunatic, why would he need those microbots?" Gogo argued.

"Profit, power, and taking over the world," Fred replied. "I bet he's making a doomsday machine in Akuma Island."

"Fred," Tadashi finally spoke up and he sets down the comic book he just looked over. He walked over to Fred. "While your theory seems plausible, you have to remember not all supervillains are rich guys."

"What are you implying, Tadashi?" Honey inquired.

"The masked man knows how the microbots worked, and how to build them," the inventor said. "If we're going by comic book logic... our masked man has to be a scientist."

"That's where the missing employees comes in!" Fred piped up. "They were engineers who worked for Krei!"

"Wait, Alistair Krei kidnapping his own employees? That doesn't make sense," Wasabi said.

Tadashi became unnaturally silent and expression became cold as he wandered off from the group. Baymax waddled over to him. The inventor noticed his robot's presence and remembered something.

"Baymax, how are your scanners?" he asked. "You said they were damaged?"

"It isn't serious, since I was still able to sense you were in need of my aid earlier," Baymax said. "With some minor fixing, they should be working good as they were before. I deeply apologizing for not scanning the masked man earlier as possible."

Tadashi nodded and patted his arm. "It's alright, buddy. We'll have to figure out something else."

He clutched his head, trying to think hard There is no dead end to this, he has to think of a new angle. ... Hold the phone. Tadashi takes out the petri dish to see the lone microbot. It's moving a little so the masked man is still on the loose.

"I know how to find him!" Tadashi chimed up excitedly. "This microbot is still attracted to the others. It only moves when he's active, but it will lead us to him."

"Hang on," Gogo stopped him. "San Fransokyo is huge, and he could be anywhere. To find him, you'd have to patrol the entire city while relying on one, single nanobot. And that takes, you know, forever."

"I'll just have to duplicate the eletromagnetic schematics so I don't have to rely on a single direction." The gears in Tadashi's head are turning faster with this spark of inspiration. He paused. "He's responsible for Hiro's death, and I have to stop him whatever he's planning."

He looked at his friends expecting them to stop him or tell him he's crazy.

Gogo exchanged glances with the others before standing up. "If you're going to do this, then you're going to need our help," she said.

Tadashi was taken aback, his eyes widen. "Wait, what?"

Fred stood next to her. "How soon do we start finding him?" he asked.

"Hang on, wait a sec..."

Wasabi interrupted him, "We nearly got killed by a man in a Kabuki mask. But if catching him brings Hiro justice, then I'm in."

Honey agreed, nodding. "I mean, we're the only ones who could do it, right?"

"Support from friends is a requirement for the healing process," Baymax stated.

_**"Listen to me!"**_ Tadashi yelled. "You all nearly died because of I didn't warn you about the danger. You can't do this with me, because it's my responsibility. I'm not..." His tone wavered and he glanced down, looking scared and defeated. "I'm not strong enough to protect all of you."

"You're our best friend, Tadashi," Gogo said, putting a hand on his shoulder which made him turn to her. She gave him a soft, warm look, which he has never seen on her face before. "After Hiro died and you shut yourself away, we never gave up on you. And we're not planning on doing it any time soon."

The others came up and placed their hands on his back.

"Hiro's not only your little brother, but he's one of us," Fred said. "The masked man messes with you, he messes with all of us!"

Tadashi stared at his friends and felt his eyes becoming watery. However, he quickly dried his tears.

"I was such an idiot," he said with a weak smile. "I pushed you away for weeks and here you all are, ready to stand by me."

"It's alright," Wasabi shrugged. "But we still don't know how we can go up against that guy. We're nerds!"

"No," Tadashi said as he stared up a huge picture of a group of superheroes. He remembered his brief stint as Big Heroman. "We can be something more..."

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the other side of San Fransokyo, a male engineer expert just ended his shift at a technological lab which is affiliated to Krei Tech Industries. He stepped into his apartment and turned on his laptop for last minute checking of his assignment before heading off to bed.<p>

He didn't notice a shadowy figure moving outside his apartment. With exhausted smile, he turned closed his laptop for the night. Then he felt a cold breeze blowing into the room and he found it odd; he remembered closing his window earlier this morning before leaving for work.

He turned around to see a tall person wearing a Kabuki mask glaring at him at his window. The expert quickly picked up the phone to call the police but the masked person quickly used the microbots to grab him and knock him out. After carrying him outside through the window, the masked man then tossed what looks like a metallic ball into the room at the technician's direction before leaping off. The grenade beeped loudly and glowed...

A huge burst of explosion was set off in the apartment, and the fire department and police was alerted by terrified neighbors. The Kabuki-masked man watch the fire consume the technician's apartment with the unconscious expert being carried by the microbots. He adjusted his mask before he disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

><p>The expert slowly awakened but before he can see where he is, he is roughly thrown into a dark, metal room. He groaned in pain and looked up to see he was not alone in the room. He saw about four other people but he recognized them immediately; they all worked on a government project at Akuma Island.<p>

"Moon, are you alright!" A terrified female technician asked him.

"I'm not hurt, but..." Moon shook his head as he sat and moved closer to the others. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," a male engineer said. "But Jones and I have been kidnapped before you after leaving Krei Tech together. Some guy in a Kabuki mask knocked us out and left us here in this room, so we don't know exactly where we are."

"Kabuki mask... Who on earth is he and what does he want from us?!" Moon demanded, trying not to panic.

_"You all know perfectly who I am,"_ a voice said behind them. The masked man menacingly approached them, with the microbots moving around his feet and up against the walls. The five scientists scrambled into the corner in fear.

The dark-clothed figure raised the Kabuki mask a bit to reveal his face, and Moon gasped in shock.

"It can't be...!"

_"You cannot leave this place,"_ the masked man coldly told them after putting down the mask. _"I have... an important job for all of you, and I will make sure it'll be carried out."_

"Listen," the expert began. He tried to reason with him but he was trembling all over. "If it's money you want, we can get you some-"

_"Be silent or I'll have the microbots inflict pain into your body in ways you don't want to imagine,"_ the masked man snapped harshly. Then he opened the blueprint and showed the scientist what looks like a giant circle of a portal. _"If you want to live longer, I suggest you better start using your brains wisely."_

"Why are you doing this?" the female technician whimpered.

_"Haven't you figured it out already? **This is a revenge story.**"_

* * *

><p>Tadashi and Baymax took the cable car that leads them to the street where their neighborhood is. Gogo is with them.<p>

"You didn't have to come with me," Tadashi told her as the three walked along the dark, empty street. Baymax is closely following the two behind.

"I'll scram after I see you home," Gogo said, putting his hands in the pocket of her jacket. "Besides, I owe you an apology."

"For what?"

Gogo looked a little embarrassed. "For saying such things last time I was in your room. It was uncalled for and I was hard."

"Well, I'm sorry too for my attitude," Tadashi said sheepishly, rubbing his neck.

Soon they were standing in front of the Lucky Cat cafe. Tadashi coughed and looked at Gogo, trying to think what else to say. For some reason, he felt awkward to be around her and he found himself avoiding her gaze. Yet, he felt strangely giddy at the same time.

"Well... I'll see you and the rest of the guys tomorrow," he said. "We'll discuss our next plan."

Gogo nodded slowly, but she was staring at him. She popped another gum and spoke, "It's so weird to see you not wearing your hat anymore. I kinda like it."

"Really?" Tadashi asked quietly. He found himself smiling.

"It makes you look cooler." Then Gogo crackled the tiniest smiles in her deadpan expression. "Or makes me feel better that you're not going bald underneath."

Tadashi chuckled over the joke while Baymax watch closely, noticing a change in Tadashi's neurotransmitters. Despite the near-death experience that happened earlier, the atmosphere seems lighthearted.

Then without another word, Gogo bowed a little. "Goodnight, Tadashi," she mumbled and then left quickly. Tadashi could have sworn he saw a tiny blush on her face. He wanted to call out after her, but he couldn't find his voice. Instead, he watches her go until she disappears into the next corner. A felt a small, empty longing in his chest.

Baymax approached his creator. "Your heart rate has accelerated," he told him. "And there are an increase levels of dopamine and phenylethylmine, indicating you are experiencing unspoken bliss and infatuation."

Tadashi's face burned in indignation and embarrassment. "_Infatuation?!_ To that radish-legged midget who drives like a maniac? Have you lost your mind?!"

"I cannot lose my mind, I am a robot," Baymax replied.

Tadashi shook his head and opened the door to the cafe, muttering under his breath.

"Ridiculous. I have no time for infatuation, I got a psycho to catch..."

* * *

><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>

**Notes: **There'll be more backstory sequences for the Hamabros later into the story. Just a little warning. XD

Oh, while this story will focus on the themes of loss, grief, and revenge; there's gonna be some mild romantic moments though they won't overtake the story since Tadashi's still hurting and isn't ready to seek a relationship until his mission is over. Plus, it's kinda fun to write Tadashi being all tsundere.


	9. Guard Dogs of Fever Dreams

**Chapter Summary:** Tadashi builds the new gears, and the group tested out their new skills and equipment. Tadashi soon gets a panic attack during a practice.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

* * *

><p>It took a week for Tadashi to upgrade his friends into becoming superheroes. While he's still worried of the idea of them getting seriously hurt, he feels confident enough in his skills to build better armor suits and weapons to protect them.<p>

The day after he started the new team, he went over to Hiro's files on the computer for ideas and decided to borrow the scrapped designs of the four robots that piqued his interest. He even got his friends to gather up their projects they made at SFIT and bring them to the garage. Tadashi looked from the robot designs to Gogo's bike, Wasabi's laser, Honey's chemical concoctions, and Fred's Kaiju costume. Already, his head is filled with bright ideas.

"Yep, we can work with these," he said as he began designing the costumes by hand on pieces of paper.

"Tadashi, do you think this is going to work?" Honey asked as she began cleaning up her chemical messes.

"It will," he replied as he began constructing up the Kabuki mask which the masked man wore to control the microbots. "With six of us, we can have an easier time catching this guy."

"He still has those microbots to stop us," Wasabi pointed out. "Do you have a plan about how we deal with that?"

Tadashi spun around and showed everyone the neural transmitter located inside the Kabuki mask. "Simple. We get mask, he can't control the bots. He'll be helpless."

"It sounds easy, but we can't expect him to go down that easy," Gogo said.

"And he can't know we're after his mask, he will try to stop us before we can try to do that." Tadashi bit his lower lip and looked over the screen. "Look, if you guys still want to back down from this, I won't stop you-"

"No way, we're all in this together like amigos!" Fred stopped him.

Tadashi smiled at the group and began going straight to work. He turned on six screens in order to modify and design all the new gear. The 3-D printer was working overtime printing out armor for everyone. The college group worked with Tadashi to give him some help improving and redesigning their tech. Baymax watched over his creator day and night, and sometimes interacted with Aunt Cass to make sure she doesn't come into the garage to see her nephew working. Tadashi even fixed Baymax's hyperspectral cameras so the robot can scan better now.

Speaking of Baymax, Tadashi soon found out that coming up for a new gear for the caregiver robot became difficult. While he could replicated Baymax's first armor, he realized that Baymax is still too slow and would not be able to keep up the others no matter how tough or strong he is. And he lacked no weapons.

One night, Tadashi was already losing his mind since he found nothing Hiro's files or toy robot collections that would give him ideas.

"Baymax, I think you should sit this one out," Tadashi told him as he slumped defeated in front of his computer. "All five of us will take care of the guy."

"Tadashi, my programming does not allow me to leave my patient unattended," Baymax insisted. "I have already decided to help you to apprehend the masked man, and aid you in your healing process."

"I know, but…" Tadashi groaned in frustration. "But I got nothing! I don't want to see you end up as a sitting duck."

Baymax tilted his head in confusion. "I was under the assumption that ducks can swim and fly. While I do float in water, I cannot perform the latter."

His last words sparked something inside Tadashi's head. He quickly grabbed a pencil and paper, and began drawing Baymax with a new look. After a few minutes. He managed to make what looks like a flying robot with wings and rocket thrusters. It came out perfect; Tadashi not only could use Baymax to fly around San Fransokyo, they can catch criminals easily. Without taking a break, he ran down the garage and began to make the armor.

Of course, he almost had trouble fitting Baymax into the suit he made the robot deflate himself, get put inside the armor pieces, then re-inflate until the suit won't let him go any further.

* * *

><p>When the suits and gear are ready, everyone took their tech out to Fred's estate, where they could refine their new skills within the walls of the private garden. Tadashi watch his friends practice their new weapons and try to steal a substitute Kabuki from Heathcliff, Fred's butler, who silently plays along with the others without a complaint. Everyone had suited up and they look like a group of sentai superheros.<p>

Tadashi and Baymax both wore matching bright red and black armor, and red helmets with purple linings that amplified their stature and strength. Tadashi's gauntlets are filled with cable wire and his gloves became lightweight electroshock weapons that delivers a powerful electrical shock capable of rendering any individual unconscious. Tadashi called his new gloves his "extreme" version of Baymax's defibrillators.

"Now _this_ will give anyone a heart attack," Tadashi chuckled as he watch electrical discharged sparked briefly in his glove.

Honey's outfit consists of a yellow dress with white linings, dark sleeves and leggings, and pink platform heels and armor. She even forgoes her glasses and instead wore a yellow helmet with pink highlights over her head. Slung over her chest is her chem purse and she was so thrilled with it.

"Tadashi, this is perfect~! I love it~!" She exclaimed. She then kissed both Tadashi's cheeks in happiness, and the inventor slightly blushed.

"Getting paid in smooches, Mr. Hamada?" Gogo smirked, while she watched Honey began testing out with her chem-ball which popped out of her purse.

Gogo is wearing a black-and-white suit of armor with white maglev discs on her wrists and boots, a matching helmet, and red linings over her suit and helmet.

Tadashi rubbed his face, laughing sarcastically. "Nobody's asking you to kiss me." Then he fell into an awkward pause at this sentence.

Gogo shrugged and popped her bubblegum. "Gotta say, I like what you did with my bike wheels."

She tried to find her balance while slowly moving on the maglev discs fitted to her feet. She started to lean forward too far and started to fall. Tadashi managed to grab her in time and her face landed on his chest, and her arms over his shoulders. The two had their eyes locked to each other in a deep stare.

"Ahem," Fred cleared his throat and got both their attention. He was standing nearby, sipping from a soda cup and there was a devilish grin on his face. "Are you getting paid in _that_ too?"

"Shaddup, Fred!" Tadashi yelled.

Gogo ignored the school mascot and skated around the hedges, going faster without stopping or losing her balance.

Fred's armor looks more of a costume of a blue traditional Japanese Kaiju monster based on his favorite Kaiju, Krogar. The suit mostly consists of the colors blue and orange, in addition to having black, spiky, claw-like nails, a tail with similar features, and three eyes Its four-fanged "mouth" is the only opening the suit has and that's where Fred shoots out his flames

Wasabi came back after his practice and joined up with his friends. He donned on a dark green armor, pants and samurai-like helmet with turquoise linings. He also wore Japanese cropped pants, with particular patterns layered over it. His turquoise gauntlets was equipped with high-powered laser blades, and he was terrified using them at first but he soon got comfortable with them.

"Did you guys saw what I did with that marble pillar?" Wasabi asked, smiling. "I sliced it in two!"

"What happened to that shimmering cape that comes with your suit?" Tadashi asked.

"It had an accident with my lasers," Wasabi replied sheepishly. "It was a distraction anyway."

"But it's fire-resistant!" Tadashi reminded him.

"Speaking of fire," Fred piped up and tossed away his soda cup after finishing it. "Now it's my turn to check out my superhero moves!"

Fred stepped forward and began bouncing higher until he jumped so high in the sky, and everyone had to stretch their necks back to see him. Fred then started jetting out a huge blast fire around him. Gogo, Honey, and Wasabi oohed in unison as they watch Fred shooting flames down on the ground to form a ring around Heathcliff who seemed to barely notice.

However, Tadashi began staring at the flames with a blank expression and his eyes went wide. He began to sweat and shake all over; breathing very rapidly, he felt as though his heart is jumping around in his chest. Nausea came over him, he felt like he was being smothered… Then in a flash of white, he saw the scene of the fire of the showcase, and the explosion happens.

Baymax was quickly alerted and saw his creator falling on his knees, doubling over and having trouble breathing.

"Tadashi is experiencing a panic attack," Baymax said urgently.

The others stopped their training and gasped in fear when they saw their friend on the ground. They hurried over to him and Heathcliff took this moment to extinguish the flames.

"Tadashi, are you okay?!" Honey asked, now deeply worried.

"We got to call 911!" Wasabi cried. "Does anyone have a paper bag?!"

"What happened to him?" Gogo wondered out loud. "He was fine earlier…"

Fred realized what exactly happened to Tadashi and he removed the top head of his suit.

"Oh, gosh! I forgot!" he moaned in panic. "The fire… I didn't mean… Tadashi, I'm sorry!"

Tadashi couldn't seem to hear them but he felt Baymax's reassuring soft touch on his shoulder.

"Tadashi," Baymax began in a soft tone. His robot is trying to help him. "Relax and slow down your breathing. I recommend placing your hands on your stomach to feel the rapidity of your breathing."

Tadashi did what he's told and in half an hour, his breathing became normal again and his body fully relaxed. He glanced up and saw his friends haven't left his side by the looks of their relieved expressions.

"You really scared us," Wasabi told him.

"I didn't know my fire-breathing power with give you a panic attack, Tadashi!" Fred apologized. "Had I known, I wouldn't have asked you to include it. I would be satisfied with my super-jump and claws…!"

"I'm okay, n-no need to be sorry," Tadashi said weakly as he gets up with Baymax's support. "Besides, it's m-mostly my fault, since I didn't realize the effect it would have on me."

Feeling lightheaded, he clutched his head. Gogo took this a moment to stop for the day.

"We did a lot of training, we'll continue the rest tomorrow," she said to the others.

Tadashi protested, "I'm okay, really! I'm not hurt…"

"Tadashi, you need a break. You've been working all week on this stuff," she said in a firm tone. "And you're in no position to practice right now."

"I agree with her," Baymax said.

Tadashi was irritated that he didn't get to show off more of his new skills, as well as Baymax's new upgrades, but he listened to them. He gave everyone a huge smile.

"You guys did great on our first day of training," he said. "You know, we should give a name to our team that inspires us and unite us."

"Ooh, what about the Incredi-Rangers?" Fred suggested. "Or the Super Nerd Squad? … Mystery Dudes?"

Wasabi face-palmed at all these suggestions while Honey looked a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, Freddie, but they're kind of… cheesy," she said.

"Fantastic Cheesy Chums doesn't sound bad," Fred grinned, without listening to her completely.

"Please stop," Wasabi warned him.

Tadashi thought for a while and he remembered his superhero alias, and how there are six members in this team.

"How about… Big Hero 6?" he suggested. Everyone stared at him. Gogo smirked and nodded.

"I like it," she said. The rest nodded in agreement.

And thus, Big Hero 6 is born.

* * *

><p>Soon everyone removed their equipment and suits, and left them in Fred's room so they wouldn't be discovered by the rest of the group's families for their own safety. Though Tadashi insisted he brings his suit home so he can make some adjustments to it. Then everyone went home for the day.<p>

Tadashi didn't collapse on his bed straightaway; he began to make six special GPS trackers using the single microbot's schematic so he can add them to the supersuits. He had done this on all of Hiro's hoodies so he can keep tabs on him if he tries to sneak out to go botfighting. It feels strangely nostalgic doing this again for different reasons.

Baymax was in his charging station, keeping a close eye on him. "Are you sure you are alright?"

"I am, Baymax," Tadashi answered without looking at him.

He then placed one of the trackers inside his helmet to see if it worked. He turned it on and faint radar appeared on his eyeshield. So far, nothing is shown. Maybe it'll work if he went to a different part of the city?

"Where are you going, Tadashi?" Baymax inquired when he saw his creator putting on his blazer and carrying his helmet under his arm.

"I'm going to test out the microbot tracker to find the masked man," Tadashi replied. "And maybe do a little patrolling around the city in my moped."

"You had a long day today, you experienced your first panic attack," Baymax stated as he stepped out of his red suitcase. He walked over to Tadashi. "I suggest a good night's rest to rejuvenate your body and mind."

"I can't rest now!" Tadashi snapped angrily. "Besides, what happened to me earlier was nothing. It won't happen to me again!"

He didn't want to admit to his robot, but this isn't the first time he's been seeing flashes of that traumatic memory. It happened before when he and the others were being chased by the masked man, and it nearly got Tadashi into jumping out of a moving car like a reckless idiot.

"Tadashi, I want to help you with your trigger, otherwise it would cause problems not only for you, but for the rest of the team. Especially if you're planning to confront the masked man."

Tadashi felt cold all over when he realized that possibility; he can't afford to break down and hyperventilate while Big Hero 6 fights the Kabuki-masked man. He needs to get this particular trigger treated.

"Well, what do I do?" he asked.

"I downloaded information about psychotherapy treatments, and I think we should try exposure therapy." Baymax began to explain, "It is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that involves having the person re-live the traumatic experience, or exposing the person to objects or situations that cause anxiety."

Tadashi's eyes widen. "Wait… That would mean I would have to go to the ruined showcase!"

"Exposure therapy helps the person confront the fear and gradually become more comfortable with situations that are frightening and cause anxiety," the nursebot continued. "This has been very successful at treating PTSD."

"Baymax, I don't think… I can't go back there! Hiro died in that place!" Tadashi cried.

"Unless you confront your fears, it would be harder to cope with your loss and grief."

Tadashi stared at him and his hands hold the helmet tight. As much he doesn't want to go back to the showcase building, even though most of it is probably burned down, he had to take control of his fears as soon as possible.

* * *

><p>Soon the two arrived and came to a stop in front of the ruined, blackened building. Tadashi drove on his moped while Baymax rode in his red suitcase. He robot rose out his box and followed his creator closely behind as they carefully entered the building.<p>

Tadashi's footsteps were muffled as they stepped over the ashes and dust that covered the entire floor of the lobby. The room is dark, the air is stifling; empty and devoid of life. Scent of smoke no lingers on the walls and ceilings, though the student could still remembered how the room smell and how hard it was to breathe through the thick clouds of smoke.

His body already started shaking but he kept his cool as best as he can. He turned to Baymax. "What do I do now?" he asked.

"I suggest meditating to clear your mind," the robot answered.

Tadashi sat on the floor, cross-legged and inhaled slowly before closing his eyes. He began seeing flashes of bright orange flames dancing and roaring in the corner, eating everything in its path… The burning air is suffocating him…

He began to feel dizzy, breathing rapidly and heart racing in fear.

"Oh god, everything is burning hot here…" he whimpered as sweat began to form in his skin. "There's no exit and the flames are rising…"

"Tadashi, take deep breaths slowly," Baymax suggested. "Stay calm and focused on my voice…"

_"I can't…! I have to get out of here!"_ Tadashi cried.

"Don't focus on what could have happened. Let it ride out. Accept that it happened."

The explosion flashed before his eyes and Tadashi crashed backwards on the floor. Baymax hurried over to his side and gently lifted him up.

"I fear that we went too fast in this treatment," Baymax said. "I regret bringing you here and causing you pain."

"No, you were helpful," Tadashi said softly as he sat up. "Let me try again… I came this far already."

He quietly concentrating on his breathing and began to meditate. He didn't know how long he sat in the dark, ruined lobby but Baymax kept vigilant watch over him. Tadashi eventually found himself trembling less and feeling his chest and muscles relaxing. A peaceful feeling washed over him and it was like his entire body felt light as a feather.

When he opened his eyes, he looked up to Baymax with a kind smile.

"I think I feel a little better," he muttered. "I don't think I'm completely trigger-free but it's a start. I guess I'll be doing a little more meditation. … Thanks, Baymax."

Baymax said nothing but he crouched down to give his creator a comforting hug. Tadashi returned it.

* * *

><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>

**Notes: **Yeah, Tadashi is slowly getting different kinds of treatments to overcome his fears and guilt thanks to the traumatic incident at the showcase. Not much has happened in this chapter, but maybe there'll be in the next one? *sweatdrops*

Oh, yes! Gogo, Honey, and Wasabi's suits are way different from how Hiro would've designed them. It makes sense that the brothers would have different ideas of what a super suit looks like.


	10. Burning the Midnight Oil

**Chapter Summary:** Big Hero 6 did some practice and patrolling. Tadashi discovers a horrifying truth about his professor.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

* * *

><p>A couple of days passed, the rest of the Big Hero 6 team had not seen Tadashi and Baymax since the trigger incident though Tadashi contacted them and told them he's doing some "meditation and a minor therapy" with Baymax that would help him get well-adjusted and not freak out around around dangerous situations that remind him of the showcase accident. In the mean time, he tells them to practice more on their gear and promised that he will return to them as soon as possible when he's ready.<p>

One afternoon, Gogo came over to the Lucky Cat cafe and to find Tadashi surfing on the Internet in his room. Tadashi didn't even seem to notice her until he heard Baymax politely greeting her. He spun around in his swivel chair and to see her.

"Gogo, what brings you here?" he asked, confused. "Shouldn't you be in classes right now?"

"I only had three class periods today, I'm free for the rest of the afternoon," she replied coolly. She is carrying a plastic shopping bag full of curry bread and holds it up for him to see. "Your aunt told me you were 'sick' today, so I came by to drop you off some snack to make feel you better." She then puts on her most stoic expression as. "Apparently you seem pretty healthy for someone who was supposed to have the runs, unless your aunt was lying to me."

"Tadashi was in good health the entire day," Baymax explained. "He made me lie to his aunt so he can stay home and do online research."

"And you did a fine job, so why don't you go down and help Aunt Cass in the cafe a bit?" Tadashi said in a sweet voice that seemed rather forced.

Baymax obeyed and left the two alone. Gogo turned to look at Tadashi.

"Um, what's he talking about?" she asked. She noticed some newspaper and blogsites clippings scattered all over one side of Tadashi's bedroom wall. "And what are _those?_"

Tadashi glances at the clippings and began to explain, "Just some evidence. Apparently, another Krei Tech employee is presumed to be missing or dead since a mysterious explosion happened in his home not so long ago and the police couldn't find any evidence. Even I couldn't find any clues on my last patrol."

"Patrol? What are you talking about?" Gogo demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"I did some patrolling around the city every night in my supersuit. I usually do it alone," Tadashi replied. "Why do you think I didn't want to leave it at Fred's mansion?"

"You mean to tell me you're still looking for random criminals to beat up so you can play superhero? This isn't a game, Tadashi! What if you seriously get hurt, or worse-caught and get your identity revealed?"

"I'm never hurt... that bad," Tadashi shrugged but he gave her a tiny apologetic grin. "Baymax patches me up whenever I come home and the bruises heal sometimes quickly."

"And how long you've been doing this?" Gogo demanded quietly, her voice filled with worry and anger.

"Ever since that night that masked man chased us in Wasabi's car. I did some patrolling while taking breaks to upgrade your weapons and suits. I even went back to the warehouse to find more clues about that mysterious bird symbol but all the stuff there are gone..."

Gogo shook her head and drops shopping bag on Tadashi's bed.

"Really, Tadashi? You're still on that Project Silent Swallow and Akuma Island?" Gogo groaned.

"It's Silent _Sparrow_," Tadashi corrected her standing up from his seat. "And besides, I need to know why they're related to the masked man, but I found nothing about Silent Sparrow on the net."

Tadashi then picked up a page of a website he printed out and showed it to her. "The only thing I got on Akuma Island that it's used as a government testing facility after World War II where it helped created San Fransokyo using state-of-the-art technology and other scientific researches. And get this, one of the scientist who helped started it is Ito Ishioka. The Robotics Lab at SFIT was named after him."

"This sounds like an interesting coincidence, but I don't see what that information got anything to do with the masked man," Gogo said. She skimmed through the entire paper. "It says here the island has been abandoned for a couple of years and it's off-limits to the public."

"It didn't say why it was abandoned, but I still wanted to know why the masked man is so interested in it," said Tadashi. He crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows in deep thought. "I think Silent Sparrow might be some secret project that was tested on that island. It sounds strange but it sounds plausible."

"I don't know, your pajama pants are strange. Didn't know you have a preference for green plaid," Gogo commented, glancing down with an amused smirk.

Tadashi gasped when he realized he's still wearing his bed clothes, especially in Gogo's presence.

"Sorry, this is going to take a sec!" he told her shyly as he pull the divider that closes his side of the room.

While Gogo waits for her friend to change, she strolls slowly around the room and looking wistfully at Hiro's side of the room. Even though the two didn't talk so much before the showcase incident, she was actually fond of the kid even though he cracked jokes of joining a "nerd lab". She stood in front of Hiro's bed and stared at the dark blue hoodie lay before her.

_Hiro,_ she thought sadly, hoping the younger Hamada brother is listening to her. _Sometimes I wish you were still around. Not only because I missed hanging out with you, but because you don't understand how much your brother misses you every day. Tadashi used to smile so much, always full of ideals and ready to help out people no matter what the cost is to him._

She paused and her face is now full of worry. _If you're hearing this, I have one favor to ask you... Make him stop whatever he's doing before he burns out or does something he might regret. He's a sweet guy, I just don't want to see him sad anymore._

Gogo heard the divider opening behind her and she turned around to see Tadashi wearing his white ninja shirt and dark pants. His cheeks were noticeably red.

"Sorry, that took a while," he apologized. He scratched his head shyly before offering a single curry bread to Gogo. "Um, do you want to share. I mean, you brought a lot of these and I don't think I can finish them all..."

Why is Gogo making him act so weird; he wasn't like this when he first met her. Maybe Baymax is on to something about him developing an infatuation towards her. After all, she's smart, modeled and build her own bike, and even save the group from the masked man without losing her cool. In a way, there are a lot of things Tadashi admire her for, but he's still unsure whether if it's alright to see her something else other than a friend.

Gogo swiped the curry bread from his hand and began to head out. "Actually, I need to leave. I gotta finish some homework before we meet up at Fred's home for more training." She stopped and gave him a thumbs up. "Take care of yourself, Tadashi."

Tadashi returned the gesture and watch her go, feeling that certain longing in his chest again. A part of him wondered if he should have said something to make her stay.

* * *

><p>Hours later, the group are back in Fred's estate and they continued practicing their skills without further incidents since Tadashi's trigger. Heathcliff managed to bring in some makeshift dummies for the team to destroy and obstacles to maneuver around; a single dummy is even provided to practice stealing the Kabuki mask. While the team are getting better stealing the substitute mask, Tadashi felt secretly irritated that they're wasting so much time here in this estate while the masked man keeps getting away from him. But he wanted to become stronger so the next time Tadashi crosses paths with the masked man, there won't be any failure.<p>

He wrapped a dark-blue scarf around his neck, adding the final touch to his supersuit. It seemed a bit unnecessary to have a scarf but the color reminds of him of Hiro's hoodie and Tadashi felt wearing the scarf will make him feel Hiro is closer.

"Great job, everybody!" Tadashi exclaimed as everyone finished today's training. They all sat, relaxing, on the chairs outside while Heathcliff served them drinks. "I think we're all ready to catch the masked man. We're just missing one thing: I need to install the microbot trackers into your headgears so we can all pinpoint the location of the masked man whenever he uses the microbots."

Everyone gave Tadashi their helmets (or in Fred's case, his Krogar head); Tadashi uses some light tools he's carrying with him and began implanting each microchip into them before returning the headgear to his friends.

"Okay, one last thing," the inventor tells them. He's wearing an eager expression like he cracked the answer to a Sudoku puzzle. "Baymax is going to scan us."

"Um, why? None of us are sick," Wasabi said, confused and nervous. "Though I'm not sure in Fred's case..."

"No no no," Tadashi shook his head. "I've made a better scanning system within Baymax's helmet. This would help him scan people from far away distances and this would give him the ability to track anyone using only their medical information. Plus, if one of us gets lost or kidnapped, he can use it to locate one of us."

"Oh, that means that you'll be able to use it to find the masked man then!" Honey said in realization.

Tadashi nodded. "However, we still need to find the guy so Baymax would scan him. And that's where we come in."

"It seems to improve our chances locating the masked man with the microbot trackers, we would all have to split up and patrol around San Fransokyo," Baymax finished for him while he's standing nearby.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Wasabi stood up, holding up his hands. "You want us to venture around the city, alone? What if one of us gets mugged or worse?!"

"Oh yeah, we're totally helpless with our carbon-fiber suits and super-tech weapons," Gogo said sarcastically. She looked straight at Baymax. "Okay, big guy. Start scanning us."

Baymax walked in front of them and scanned all four of them.

Gogo then turned to Tadashi. "It seems like a good idea, but I have one question: Are you really going to let Baymax to wander around the city by himself? The last time I checked, he's pretty slow on his feet... especially with the new armor you've given him."

"I haven't shown you Baymax's new upgrade yet, huhh?" Tadashi grinned wider as he walked over to his robot to give him an order. "Baymax, show them what you got."

Baymax stared at him, as though he didn't understand him.

"The thing!"

Baymax lifted up his hand, moving his fingers. "Bata-latala..."

"No, not that! The other thing!" Tadashi said. He cleared his throat. "Baymax, wings."

At this moment, Baymax's carbon-fiber wings were deployed. Tadashi's friends oohed.

Tadashi then climbed onto Baymax's back. He locked on to the huge, armored robot by using the magnetic pads on the bottom of shoes and pushing his hands inside compartments inside Baymax's armor shoulders.

"Thrusters," Tadashi directed. Then Baymax began to rising into the air.

"I fail to see how flying makes me a better health-care companion," Baymax commented.

"I fail to see how you fail to see that this is awesome," Tadashi replied back with an excited smile. "Full thrust!"

Baymax took off like a rocket, shooting straight up to the sky while everyone else watched with their jaws dropped.

_"Too much thrust! Too much thrust!"_ they heard Tadashi screaming.

Fred started to snicker, "He said-"

"Fred, I swear I will laser-hand you in the face if you finish that!" Wasabi silenced him.

Tadashi, in his fear, immediately lost his grip and fell off from Baymax's back and the ground is so far away. Honey screamed from below.

"Tadashi's falling!" she shrieked in horror.

Wasabi, Fred and Gogo hurriedly readied themselves to catch him but Baymax was already alerted. The caregiver bot swooped down, catch his creator in his arms.

"You have fallen," Baymax told him.

"Gee, you think?" Tadashi asked, smiling at the obvious. But he was grateful that Baymax managed to save him.

Tadashi hurried climbed on to Baymax's back and rocketed Baymax back into the sky much to the relief of the others. Baymax flew like a pro as he zipped over the city, weaving through buildings and wind turbines gracefully. They flew past a high-rise that reflected their own image back at them.

A serene melancholy fell over Tadashi as he stared at his reflection. For one quick moment, he saw Hiro riding behind him with his arms wrapped tight around his big brother's waist. It made him remember that upgrading Baymax into a flying robot isn't the first aerial invention he created...

* * *

><p><em><strong>Seven Years Ago.<strong>_

"You ready?" Twelve-year-old Tadashi asked his little brother Hiro.

The Hamada brothers have managed to make a homemade hovercraft using some parts they scavenged from the junkyard. With the two of them working together, they managed to build the flying object and they're ready to make their first flight test inside their garage.

Seven-year-old Hiro cling tight to his brother's back. "I wanna be the pilot!"

"Nah, you're not big yet," Tadashi told him before slapping a helmet on top of their heads. Then he flipped on a switch.

The hovercraft rose and flew out of the garage, and glided down the steep road much to the thrill of the young brothers. They narrowly avoided an oncoming cable car but they weren't frightened at all.

"This is amazing!" Hiro laughed with joy, raising his hands into the air. Tadashi laughed with him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Current Day.<strong>_

Tadashi was so happy at this memory that he felt his chest tightening and tears began to form in his eyes. Baymax carefully landed on top of a tall bridge.

He turned to Tadashi and blinked. "Your neurotransmitter levels are rising. This indicates you are very happy."

Tadashi nodded, "I am. I really am!"

"Yet, you are crying even at the absence of emotional distress."

"This is a different kind of crying," Tadashi replied as he dried his eyes. "We should head back to the others, we'll be heading out to patrol when night comes."

Baymax did not fly yet. "Tadashi, you are a good boy."

Tadashi frowned, surprised by this comment.

"When you first started making me, you never gave up trying to get me to work," Baymax continued. "You said that people need me even if I don't understand it back then."

Tadashi though back all those difficult tests that made him pull his hair and lose his sleep. And seeing Baymax working him on his eighty-fourth test brought him so much joy that he couldn't wait to get Hiro to meet his robot.

"Of course, I wanted you to help a lot of people," Tadashi said softly.

"That's why I'm not going to give up on you as well," Baymax said before flying back to Fred's mansion.

Tadashi remained quiet the entire time while different conflicting thoughts are running through his mind.

* * *

><p>It was quiet in the late hours of evening. With the streets nearly empty and quiet, Big Hero 6 began patrolling around the city in hunt for the masked man. The team decided to split separately into three separate groups to cover more ground; Wasabi and Gogo for one group, Honey and Fred for the second group, and then Tadashi and Baymax for the third group.<p>

Tadashi and Baymax stood on top of a building overlooking the industrial downtown of San Fransokyo. He turned on his communicator.

"Did you guys find anything?" he called.

"Not yet, though Wasabi's kept refusing to leap over rooftops," Gogo answered.

She and Wasabi are located in the Marina, an area where many Eastern shops sell everything from exotic teas to fresh fish and imported vegetables.

"I'm afraid of heights and you know it!" Wasabi shouted.

"Also, Wasabi and I managed to take out this group of punks who are harassing this old lady running a shop," Gogo continued, ignoring Wasabi.

"For some reason, she dresses inappropriately for an 80-year-old," Wasabi added, disgust in his tone.

_"Mrs. Matsuda,"_ Tadashi whispered in horror, remembering how Aunt Cass keeps mentioning a certain customer who often visits the Lucky Cafe.

Fred excitedly scream into his ear. "Honey and I just defeated a couple of bank robbers over here at Union Square! Honey uses her chem-balls to cover their getaway car in chemical goo while I fought them valiantly! I think one of them pissed their pants."

"That's because your costume scared them, Freddie," Honey told him.

"Have anyone of you seen the masked man, yet?" Tadashi demanded impatiently.

"No, everything's cool here," Wasabi replied. Everyone else made sounds of agreement. "Look, Tadashi, you got to fix that anger of yours..."

Tadashi shuts off the communicator. He then turns to Baymax. "Okay, buddy. Let's do another flying around the area..."

Suddenly, his visor began to blink. The microbot tracker worked-the masked man is nearby! Baymax pointed a finger towards a lone house sitting on high hill surrounded by trees further away from the city.

"It appears the sensor is telling us the masked man is hiding there," the robot said.

Tadashi went quiet and his expression turned cold. He immediately climbed onto Baymax's back. "Let's head there!"

"Shouldn't we call for the others to join us first?" Baymax asked.

"We will, but first I need to check that place out."

* * *

><p>Baymax landed a good distance away from the house which appears to be a 2-story modern contemporary house. The house seemed dark except for light coming from the second story. The microbot tracker had stopped blinking but Tadashi knew the masked man is located inside. He tells Baymax to remain in his spot and hidden while Tadashi crept towards the house. The inventor peeked inside through a closed glass window and saw the house is dark inside and noticed the furniture and other personal belongings seemed to be covered in light dust. Tadashi saw someone moving in the shadows and going through a door that appears to be leading to the basement.<p>

Tadashi looked around to find an entrance when he noticed an open window in the second story. He used his cable wire to pull himself upwards and climbed through the window. He found himself what looked liked to be a huge office; the walls are filled with all kinds of books about science and technology. Sitting on a mahogany desk is a laptop with a picture frame next to it.

Tadashi picked up the picture and recognized the man in the photo.

"Professor Callaghan?" he said in shock.

His professor looked a little younger. Standing next to him is a young woman he didn't recognize. He didn't even know her name until he saw a name written in the bottom of the picture.

"Abigail... So this is Callaghan's daughter?"

_That means this is Callaghan's home,_ Tadashi thought. _Why would the masked man come here?_

Tadashi noticed there was a USB linked to the laptop. Tadashi opened the laptop and paused video screen appeared. He saw an image of Alistair Krei. Now even more curious and confused, Tadashi turned on the communicator.

"Guys..." he quietly called out to them.

"Tadashi, where are you and Baymax!" Gogo shouted angrily. "You cut us off! Now we're tying to look for you!"

"The both of us are fine," Tadashi replied, trying to keep his voice low. "I'm at Callaghan's home."

"Hey, why are you at some dead guy's house?" Fred asked, bewildered.

"Tadashi, what's going on?" Honey asked worriedly.

"Shush, I'm letting you guys know I found something. I'll call you back soon."

Tadashi turned off the communicator. He then pressed play on the video. It showed Alistair Krei walking in a lab that seemed sleek and new. A small audience that included military officials was listening as Krei said, "We were asked to do the impossible. And that's what we did. We've reinvented the very concept of transportation. Friends, I present Project Silent Sparrow."

Krei gave his audience a broad smile to two large circular structures that vaguely resembled portals of some sort. Tadashi recognized the bird symbol on them. He listened to Krei talking about how teleportation is the transport of matter instantaneously through space, and not science fiction anymore. He watched Krei leading the audience up to the control room and Tadashi recognized the engineers and technicians there being the missing Krei Tech employees.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you're here to witness history." Krei spoke into a microphone. "Ready to go for a ride, Abigail?" he asked.

Another video showed Callaghan's daughter climbing into a flight pod set up to enter one of the portals.

"We've invited all these people; might as well give them a show," she said.

Tadashi continued watching, his eyes glued to the screen. An expert told Krei there was a slight irregularity in the field harmonics but Krei continued to pushed forward. Soon the pod shot into the first portal, but at that moment it entered, alarms screamed.

"We've lost all contact with the pilot!" a technician yelled.

Krei began to panic, his eyes filled with fear. He tried to press some buttons to gain control but the second portal exploded. A spinning vortex was forming at the center of the first portal and items began flying into it. The place was going to implode. Krei was forced to hit the kill switch and first portal shut down. But the pilot has now disappeared inside the portal and no way of exiting.

Tadashi to find his words but he stared numbly at the screen. "I don't understand... Why would Callaghan have a video of this...?"

To his shock, he saw Professor Callaghan running into the control room. He looked furious and ready to strangle Krei but he was held back by the engineers and the military officials.

_**"Krei, you knew it wasn't ready!"**_ Callaghan shouted. His voice was full of anguish and venom. _**"I want my daughter back!"**_

Then the video ended and a cold chill ran down Tadashi's spine. Wanting to confirm something, he checked the drawers of the desk looking for something and found it at the bottom drawer.

A Kabuki mask.

The exact same one the masked man wears.

Now Tadashi understood why Callaghan seems to hate Krei and why the fire started in the showcase.

"Callaghan's faked his death and he's using my brother's microbots to get back at Krei," he muttered. "I can't believe this, but..."

His professor, the man he looked up to and tried to save from the fire is actually a ruthless criminal.

Tadashi immediately stood up, he has to tell the others.

Suddenly, someone appeared behind him and struck Tadashi in the back of the head with a blunt object. The inventor fell to the floor and lost his consciousness.

* * *

><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>


	11. Father Rejoice

**Chapter Summary:** The BH6 team fight the masked man to save Tadashi, and finally revealed the criminal's identity.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

* * *

><p><em>"Tadashi?" Aunt Cass called out to her nephew as she peeked into the room.<em>

_Tadashi was lying in his bed on his stomach. It had been a few days since he stopped attending SFIT and he couldn't sleep last night. His face was heavy and his eyes still stinging from tears that had long dried up. He didn't seem to hear his aunt since he kept staring at the memorial photo of Hiro sitting next to his face._

_In Aunt Cass' hands was a red, portable suitcase (unknown to her, contains the inflatable robot Baymax) and it was given to her by one of Tadashi's friends._

_"Your classmate Wasabi dropped by and asked me to give this to you," she said kindly as she set down the red suitcase near her depressed nephew's bed. "I don't know what this is, but he said you might need it."_

_She stared sadly at Tadashi, expecting him to say something. She was about to leave when he finally spoke._

_"Aunt Cass, can I ask you something?" Tadashi asked. He sounds so tired and weak._

_"Sure, sweetie. Anything."_

_"When mom and dad died in that car accident, you were sad, right?" Tadashi paused and then swallowed. He could taste a hint of bitterness in his mouth. "Let's say if you know someone who was responsible for their deaths, would you want that person gone for good?"_

_Aunt Cass became quiet and looked down at her hands. "To be honest, Tadashi... I would do anything to get my sibling back," she said hesitantly. "But wishing harm on someone, what good would that do? Holding on to that kind of anger... It's like grasping a hot coal and you want to throw it at someone else. However, you are the one who gets burned."_

_"I just missed Hiro, Aunt Cass," Tadashi said in a hollow voice. _

* * *

><p><em>Tadashi stared at Fred incredulously as he worked on upgrading a suit for the school mascot. <em>

_"Yokai?" he asked._

_"Yeah, that's what we're going to name him!" Fred replied as he sat on the desk next to Tadashi's computer. "Every supervillain needs a nickname, and we can't keep calling him the masked man, forever."_

_Tadashi knew the name 'Yokai' seems to fit their masked man; someone who appears and disappears like a phantom, especially there's an air of mystery surrounding him. Yet, the inventor feels put off by the nickname._

_"I don't know, Fred. Giving a criminal a nickname would make him seem like... human," Tadashi said with a shrug. **And as far as I'm concerned, what he had done doesn't make him human at all.**_

_Fred pursed his lips, pouting. "Well, if we're gonna be superheroes, we might as well make our origin story become authentic. We got the tragic backstory, a goal to protect people and stop crime in the justice, and super-secret identities!"_

_**I don't exactly enjoy having a tragic backstory in our origin story,** Tadashi thought bitterly as he continued working._

* * *

><p>The masked man used the microbots to carry the unconscious Tadashi. He even removed the young man's helmet and left it behind. Moving quickly, he left the house with the intent of moving on to his next destination, bringing the intruder along. He heard something approaching quickly and he looked to see a giant, red-armored robot flying towards him fast.<p>

Baymax was concerned when he sense Tadashi had been knocked and he realized he was ambushed by the masked man. This time, he got ready to scan the criminal while he prepared to grab his creator.

The masked man realized what the flying robot was going to do and he summoned a wave of microbot towards him. Baymax was struck and he fell the ground. Before he can get up, the microbots wrap themselves around his body and raised him high in the air. Then Baymax was slammed down hard on Callaghan's home, crashing through the roof and into the ground floor. Baymax lay there, unmoving though not broken. The masked man realized he just destroyed the house but he didn't care. He had more important business to attend.

He left the robot behind while carrying Tadashi in the tight grasp of the microbots.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the rest of Big Hero 6 had meet up with each other in a deserted alley after making patrol rounds. So far, they have not located the masked man's whereabouts nor heard a word from their leader. Gogo couldn't get an answer from either Tadashi or Baymax in her communicator and she's beginning to worry.<p>

"Something has happened to them, we need to find them," she told the others.

Honey gasped when she saw her visor blinking. "Tadashi's microbot tracker! The masked man is on the move!"

"He seems to be heading towards the pier, probably returning to the warehouse where we last saw him," Fred said. He's all pumped up to catch a supervillain. "We're coming for you, Yokai!"

"Wait, we can't go after that guy without Tadashi and Baymax!" Wasabi shouted in panic.

"You three go after the masked man," Gogo said. "I'm going to find the others."

"You know where Callaghan's home is?" Honey asked.

Gogo nodded. "I'm a bike messenger, I would know where to go."

Wasabi placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave her a worried look.

"You be careful, okay?" he said. "If anything happens to you to, I..."

"Don't worry about me," Gogo reassured him, chewing her gum. "Worry about how to get the Kabuki mask from that lunatic."

"That's not helping," Wasabi gulped in fear.

However, he, Honey, and Fred ran off in one direction to follow the masked man while Gogo sped off towards Professor Callaghan's home. She hoped she could find Baymax and Tadashi safe and alive.

* * *

><p>Tadashi stirred awake. His head felt like it was ready to split open and his vision was blurred. He tried to move but he realized his hands were tied. In fact, he discovered he was tied down with thick ropes while sitting on a chair. His pain gradually began to fade and his sight clearing up. He found himself inside a dark room where the walls are full of the papers he remembered seeing in his first visit of the warehouse. He tried to see where he was but the only window in the room is boarded up. Tadashi suddenly realized he was not wearing his helmet; it must have been removed while he was knocked out.<p>

In front of him, he saw the masked man standing over a table. The criminal had his back towards Tadashi and he seems to be fixing the neurotransmitter inside the Kabuki masked.

Tadashi remembered the video he watched earlier before he was knocked out and his blood boiled.

"Professor Callaghan," he growled.

His words caught the masked man who immediately put on the Kabuki mask back on his face before turning to look at Tadashi.

"You... you killed my brother!" Tadashi screamed. He struggled violently to free himself from the ropes. Right now he felt like punching the masked man until there was nothing like. All he could see is red and fire. _"He looked up to you, he invented the microbots to impress you! And you steal them from him!"_

The masked man said nothing but continue to stare at Tadashi coldly.

"I thought you were a good man, a great teacher," Tadashi continued. His chest was rising and he was breathing heavily. "But now I realized what kind of scum you are, you selfish monster!"

Then Tadashi was met by a sudden blow from the masked man's hand and he flinched from the sharp pain in his cheek. However, the inventor continue to glare at the masked man.

"When I get out out of these ropes..." Tadashi threatened him.

Then someone else spoke up. "Unfortunately, you won't," a female voice said. Tadashi recognized it; it belonged to the mysterious woman he hear in the warehouse. "In fact, you won't even be alive much longer."

Someone stepped into the other room, coming up from behind Tadashi. Tadashi's eyes widened when he recognized her.

"I know you," he said quietly in surprise. "You were with Alistair Krei at the showcase."

Krei's pixie-haired secretary just narrowed her eyes at him as she fixed her glasses.

"Where am I?" Tadashi demanded.

"You're trapped in the top floor of the old Krei Tech lab which is due to be demolished in two days from now," the secretary said coolly, crossing her arms. "I'm surprised you didn't drown after all when your car fell into the bay. You Hamadas have strange luck for survival..."

Tadashi interrupted her, "Why are you working with Callaghan? He wanted your boss dead!"

"Is that what you really think?" she asked. She has a strange smirk on her lips. "You just assume things from watching a single video without further understanding the truth. Our plans doesn't involve my boss, despite the careless mistakes he committed in his arrogance in the past."

"What plans?"

The secretary didn't reply. She went over to a cabinet and pulled out a thick roll of duct tape. Then she slapped a piece over Tadashi's mouth to prevent him from talking.

"If your little brother hadn't listened to Robert and should have sold his tech to Krei, he wouldn't had to pay for his mistakes," she whispered into his ear. Then she pulled back and gave him a blank, disapproved look. "This isn't personal, Mr. Hamada, but I am still miffed that you stopped Mr. Krei from walking with that microbot."

Tadashi just shot her an icy glare but the secretary isn't intimidated.

"Though we do have a couple of questions we have to ask you before we leave you here to die," she said. "The first thing we want to know is about your caregiver robot."

Tadashi was taken aback. _Why would they want to know about Baymax?_

Then the masked man seemed alerted by something and he moved towards the door. The secretary took this cue to leave Tadashi behind in the room.

"Looks like we can't have our answers then. This might be the last time we see each other," she told him. "I don't know if your body will be found or even recognizable after this building is destroyed."

Tadashi's angry screams muffled when she commented Hiro like that. But Krei's secretary ignored him and closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, down below the abandoned labs, Wasabi, Honey and Fred cautiously walked around looking for any signs of the masked man. The microbot tracker had led them to a tall, brick building that used to be an old facility for Krei in the past. Fred began humming a tune to lighten up the atmosphere from being scary.<p>

"Fred, this is not the time!" Wasabi said.

Honey hushed him gently as she opened a door which lead them to a huge, empty lab full of cabinets and high-tech desks of computers and keyboards that seemed to be covered in dust. The floors were covered in dust and small debris, as well as scattered papers. There is a huge hole in a wall on the other side of the room. In the middle of the room is a huge ring that seemed fifteen-feet tall and it looked like a portal. It looked old and damaged.

"I wonder what's this?" she asked as she touched the object.

"Guys, am the only one seeing this?" Fred suddenly spoke up. He sounded shock and he was staring at a piece of photo that he picked up.

Honey and Wasabi went over to where he is and looked into the photo as well. They gasped when they saw what's on it.

"Is that... that's impossible!" Wasabi exclaimed, his eyes went wide.

"This is too surreal. Why was he here?" Fred asked, glancing wildly at his friends.

Honey felt her beating fast. This is all so confusing. "We have to tell Tadashi..."

Suddenly, everyone's microbot trackers began to blink and beeped wildly before they fall into dead silence. They spun around around just in time to see the masked man and the microbots entering the lab through the giant hole in the wall.

"What's the plan now?" Wasabi asked.

Honey takes out chem-ball from her purse. "We get the mask!"

"No, seriously. What's the plan?!"

Fred suddenly stepped forward. "It's Fred Time!" he roared before leaping towards the masked man.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile back on the top floor, Tadashi struggled to pull himself free but the ropes proved to be too strong. He had to get out of here and find Callaghan so he can destroy him. As well as Krei's secretary.<p>

He wanted them both _**dead**_.

While his thoughts filled with hatred and fury, the wall with window broke down much to his surprise. As the dust cleared, Baymax stepped into the room and Gogo jumped off the robot's back.

"Tadashi!" she cried and hurried to his side. She quickly untied her friend.

Tadashi removed the duct tape from his mouth. "Gogo, thank goodness you and Baymax as here," he said, relieved. "How did you guys find me?"

"After I scanned you, we used my sensors to track you down," Baymax replied.

Gogo suddenly smacked his head much to his bigger surprise.

"Ow, what's the big deal?!"

"You cut us off and didn't tell us you were going somewhere else!" Gogo shouted at him while she keeps smacking his head and shoulders. "And when you didn't call back like you promised, you had us worried all sick! I even found Baymax lying on top of a collapsed house!"

"Gogo, I advise you to not hit my patient, please," Baymax stopped her. "He seems to sustained some injuries which I need to attend."

"Never mind about me," Tadashi said. "We have to catch Callaghan, he's the one who's responsible for the fire and Hiro's death!"

Gogo stared at him. "Professor Callaghan? That... Wait, that doesn't make sense..."

"My sensors told me the others are fighting downstairs and they are in trouble," Baymax suddenly stated.

Tadashi and Gogo hurriedly got on Baymax's back.

"Let's move, Baymax!" he shouted.

"Tadashi, there's something you must know about the masked man..."

"You can tell me later. Fly!"

Baymax then flew off to join the others.

* * *

><p>Wasabi, Honey, and Fred-despite their new gear and skills-were losing a disastrous battle since they were still inexperienced. Wasabi had to slice and counter the microbots coming straight at him, but then he was grabbed by his feet and tossed away like a ragdoll. Honey took a chem-ball and was about to throw it at the masked man but Wasabi's body crashed into her. Her chem-ball was shot out of her hand and it hit Fred instead. The chemical concoction exploded into a gooey mess which got him stuck.<p>

"Looks like we're in a sticky situation here, guys," Fred said.

"Great, we're going to die and the last words I'm gonna hear is a one-liner," Wasabi groaned in pain.

The masked man used the microbots to form a giant hand which then curled into a fist. The microbot-fist moved to strike the three heroes when Baymax suddenly flew in and broke through the fist with his armor.

The masked man was flabbergasted for a moment, but then he regained his composure when he saw Tadashi and Gogo entering.

"Baymax, look after the others!" Tadashi directed an order. "Gogo and I will take care of this!"

The masked man, now infuriated, used the microbots to form a giant snake and made it attack the two heroes. Tadashi and Gogo dodged away in time, and they split up. Gogo used her maglev discs and skated around the room faster, while Tadashi relied on his cable wires to maneuver around. The masked man realized he couldn't chase both of them at the same time so he made his microbots shot out spikes to try and attack them simultaneously. Gogo avoided them the best she cane while she threw the discs in her arms, hoping they will hit the Kabuki mask. She was then struck and she skidded to stop, crashing into the floor.

She tried to get up but she saw a microbot spike coming fast at her, she couldn't escape in time. She heard Wasabi screaming her name.

The masked man did not see Tadashi swinging down behind him. The inventor used his electrified glove and hit the masked man in the back. The latter's body twitched as electrical sparks coursed throughout his body. The microbots twitched in reaction.

Then the masked man was knocked down to the floor, the Kabuki mask flew off. Without the neurotransmitter, the microbots fell lifeless.

On the other side of the room, Honey and Fred were gently lifted up by Baymax.

"Baymax, buddy!" Fred grinned as he gave the robot a huge hug. "I thought we were goners, but you save us!"

"It's over... we won, Freddie!" Honey gasped with relief. Then, feeling rushed and possibly acting on the heat of the moment, she hugged the school mascot and planted a big kiss on his cheek. Fred's face turned bright red and he covered his embarrassed face with his kaiju costume. But Honey and Baymax already noticed he was grinning like an idiot.

Wasabi hurried over to Gogo's side. "Are you alright?"

Gogo groaned and clutched her side.

"I think so, but I've had worse injuries," she said. Her face softened a little when she saw how worried Wasabi looked. "At least you survived. Can't imagine what would have happened if Tadashi and I came too late..."

She stopped when she remembered their leader. Tadashi, meanwhile, had walked over the body of the rotten criminal, who was sprawling out on the ground. Sitting a few feet away was the Kabuki mask, and Tadashi picked it up.

"It's over, Callaghan," he said.

The masked man began to move, groaning a little. Then he began to stand up while he still had his back turned. The first thing Tadashi noticed something was off was the height of his enemy. He could have sworn Callaghan was taller...

When the masked man finally turned around, Tadashi felt as though he was smacked in the face. His eyes wide in confusion and his jaw dropped.

"Y-you're not Professor Robert Callaghan," he said in horror.

"No, I am his daughter," Abigail said coldly.

* * *

><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>

**Notes:** Surprised by the plot twist? I've been wanting to do this twist ever since most of the Yokai reveal in fics are either Callaghan or Tadashi, and I wanted to try something new. I've had this plot twist planned from the very beginning when this story was just originally an AU oneshot in Tumblr. Another fanfic writer (who wrote the amazing fic "Twist of Fate") ALMOST considered using that Yokai!Abigail plot twist and I'm glad they didn't. XD

Why and how Abigail survived her portal accident and became a villain will be explain in the next chapter.


	12. Wishes in the Dark

**Chapter Summary:** Flashback of how and why Abigail became the villain, and what exactly happened to Professor Callaghan.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

* * *

><p>Tadashi shook his head, his body and emotions had went numb. His friends were nearby watching this and they were shocked as well. They didn't know Callaghan has a daughter and they're confused about why she's a criminal.<p>

"But... Abigail Callaghan died during a portal accident at Project Silent Sparrow!" Tadashi protested. He clearly remembered the video that shows the terrifying incident. Come to think of it, he stopped and wondered... the video didn't show what happened after Callaghan rushed into the control room.

"I didn't die," Abigail said, narrowing her eyes. "I was merely trapped inside the portal dimension for two weeks until I was rescued. But by then, the damage was already done."

She stopped and began to shudder, relieving the horrible flashbacks and memories that occurred after the accident and rescue. Even her hands began to ache; though they were already no longer hurting, reminding her of the wounds she received on that tragic day.

When her entire world was burned to ashes.

* * *

><p>Two weeks after the government officials forced Krei to shut down the Silent Sparrow project and had everyone abandoned the lab, Alistair Krei quietly approached Professor Callaghan and told him that there is a way to rescue his daughter but Krei would need his help, and it had to be done in secret so the government won't get wind of it.<p>

With those two, as well as the five engineers and technicians, they managed to rebuild a third but smaller portal in the biggest laboratory of Krei's old testing facility. Krei had Callaghan to keep contact with Abigail while Krei himself and his experts try to keep the portal stabilized and, using some special controls from the lab, pilot her pod towards the exit.

Callaghan saw the pod shot out from the portal and crashed into a wall of the lab, forming the giant hole. His daughter and only family, Abigail was finally back and safe.

Unfortunately, something terrible had happened to her.

Callaghan tried to restrain and calm Abigail who started screaming and crying in fear as soon he opened her pod. To make matters worse, it appears she was injured and her legs were paralyzed, probably from the explosion that destroyed the second portal (which she tried to go through) back at Akuma Island.

"The pod should have put her in hypersleep in cases of extreme accidents that could potentially harm her," one of the experts told a horrified Krei. "But it appears she had been awake and alert this entire time, while she was lost inside there for two weeks..."

"Krei, this is your fault! You did this to my daughter!" Callaghan screamed at the CEO while he stayed close to Abigail who was about to be carried away to receive medical treatment.

"N-no, it was an accident," Krei tried to tell the professor but Callaghan didn't listen to him. An engineer approached his boss.

"Sir, there's something else coming through the portal... We don't know what it is, but..."

That was the last thing Abigail was heard before she was sedated and drifted away to unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Months passed. While Callaghan and his daughter are now reunited, the accident of Project Silent Sparrow, however, had left Abigail confined to a wheelchair and in a physically and emotionally weakened state overall. Abigail suffered many sleepless nights, waking up to nightmares of being trapped and conscious inside the portal dimension. This episodes often left her shaking and screaming, to the point she sometimes doesn't remember where she was until she was calmed down. Another problem added to the list is that while her legs was physically injured, they were also paralyzed from the psychological trauma.<p>

Greatly upset over being in such debilitation, Callaghan assured his daughter he will be there for her and Abigail will be given the best help and medical treatment he could find.

"No one expects you to bounce back so soon," he kindly told an emotionally-drained Abigail one day after they had breakfast in the kitchen. "I promise that with intensive physiotherapy training, you will be walking again."

Abigail didn't say anything but frowned. Her father decided to hire a nurse to take care Abigail in the day while he teaches at SFIT, and he looks after her at nights and in the weekends. Before he could leave the house that day, he received a visitor. Abigail was in the other room, and couldn't hear conversation but she noticed her father's seemed to be rising and becoming angrier. Then the door slammed loudly and a few minutes later, Callaghan returned and he was wearing a forced smile.

"Sorry, it's some rude guy selling encyclopedias," he explained as he wheeled Abigail out to the veranda in the backyard. "Sorry if my temper made you uncomfortable."

"It's alright," Abigail muttered.

Her father placed in her under a cool shade so she could look at the trees and sky. The fresh air did not seem to lighten up her moods; while she has her dad with her, she couldn't enjoy this morning. Something was missing...

"Dad, has Alistair come by yet?" she asked her dad quietly. "I haven't heard from him since I was rescued. I thought he would want to see me..."

Callaghan's face darkened and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, much to her mild surprise.

"Abigail, I think you should forget about Krei," he said. There was a hint of anger and hate in his tone. "He let you enter that portal even though he knew there was something wrong. He only saved you so he could save his hide. That's why he didn't bother to come visit you. You... were just a setback to him."

Abigail felt as though she could sink into the ground. She couldn't believe what her father told her, but everything he said seems to make sense... She could feel tears flowing from her face and she couldn't hold back her sobs.

She felt her father pulling into a tight hug, trying to soothe her. Since that day, Abigail found herself slowly hating Krei too; she had put so much trust and respect in him, only to learn she was nothing to him.

He was just an arrogant businessman. To think he was actually something different, because she saw a different side to him one time before...

* * *

><p>A year went by, and Abigail hasn't recovered due to lack of significant progress. While she could finally move her toes, her legs were too weak and she could not take more than a few steps without collapsing. She even snapped at her father in her frustration over being dependent on others for everything.<p>

Immediately realizing what she had done, she apologized quickly. "I'm sorry, dad," she said. "I didn't mean..."

"No, it's alright, sweetie," Callaghan assured her. "You have every right to be frustrated."

"I really wanted to walk again, but I can't!" Abigail ranted. Her pent up emotions began pouring out like poison. "I hate Alistair so much for making me like this! He doesn't know what it's like to be trapped and lost, feeling scared and not knowing if you're going to end up dying sooner or saved! I wished he was dead!"

She noticed her a strange glint in her father's eyes but she didn't think so much about it.

"That's an interesting idea," she heard him mumble under his breath. "Wouldn't that be brilliant..."

* * *

><p>A few months passed, Abigail began to notice her dad is gradually distancing himself away from her and spending more time in the basement of their home. Abigail is no longer receiving any more medical help from her doctor. Callaghan even stopped the physiotherapy training.<p>

Abigail also noticed her dad is becoming a bit foul-tempered lately, and she tried to lighten up his mood a few times.

"So, how was school today, Professor Robotics?" she asked cheerfully while her dad worked on something on his laptop in the living room.

"Mundane as usual," Callaghan replied without looking up. "Though one of my student is building a nursebot for his robotics project. I find it rather interesting-robots in the medical field! ... He seems too idealistic, in my opinion."

"That sounds interesting!" Abigail exclaimed. "You know, I don't think Alistair ever invented something like that in Krei Tech-"

Her father's laptop suddenly slammed down and Abigail saw her father's shine with anger.

_**"Don't ever mention his name in this household ever again! What did I tell you?!"**_

"I'm s-sorry, daddy, I forgot..." Abigail cried in a tiny voice.

Callaghan grabbed his laptop and went down to the basement to continue his work. Leaving his daughter behind and without apologizing to her. Abigail is starting to think her dad has simply given up her.

_No, that's ridiculous,_ she thought as she wheeled herself through the kitchen to get a glass of water from the tap. Her body was still trembling. _Daddy would never think I'm like a useless load since I never made any progress at walking._

_But then again,_ a voice inside her said with a sneer,_ what if he really does gave up trying get help for you? You're like a doll who can't even use the bathroom without assistance! It's no wonder Alistair never came by to see you. He probably moved on and forgot about you... And what if it's the same for dear father? Maybe he's finding ways to get rid of you too... The only thing that's left of your former self is your beauty..._

It was true, Abigail no longer felt like her old self before she joined Project Silent Sparrow. She used to be care-free and full of life and adventure, a talented botfighter who became a brave pilot. Now she's wasting away in cynical despair, and there would probably be no future for her.

"No," she suddenly said as she set her glass on the kitchen table. "I'm not letting that happened to me. I will... walk again! This is not my dead end!"

Leaning heavily on the kitchen table, she managed to keep herself standing and slowly pressed her foot forward, and a pain shot throughout her leg. She bit down her cry and moved another foot forward, and another until she lets go of the table. She remained standing without an aid, and took a couple of steps before she lost her balance and crashed on the floor. The vibrations moved the glass of water and it fell to the floor.

The noises alerted Callaghan who hurried into the kitchen.

"Abigail?!" he called out to her. He saw her sprawling on the floor and he gently set her back on the wheelchair. "I heard something while I was in the basement. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"N-no, dad, I'm fine. I tried to reach for the graham crackers on the top of the shelf but I leaned too far," Abigail lied. She was smiling in the inside.

She finally walked!

* * *

><p>The next several weeks while her dad is busy teaching at SFIT, Abigail practiced trying to walk around the house; she could feel her legs getting stronger each day and her health is returning. She wondered if her dad had noticed any difference in her mood but he seemed to be preoccupied with something. Abigail decided to keep her training a secret just wait for the right moment to surprise him.<p>

_And maybe we can be a family again,_ she thought hopefully as she ran around her home. She felt as though she was flying like a sparrow.

One day, her father told her something interesting; today, he will be a judge at this science showcase that would take place at the exhibition hall at SFIT.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this before, Abigail," Callaghan said as he hastily fixed up his clothes. "I've been busy with so many things. Will you be alright here by yourself?"

"I'll man down the fort while you're gone," she told her as she sat in her wheelchair. "Go have fun, I bet it'll be a blast!"

Callaghan gave her a smile, a genuine smile which Abigail hadn't seen for a long time, before he disappeared out through the door. Waiting for her father to completely leave the driveway, Abigail leaped out of her wheelchair and put on her best clothes. Today, she will be going out for the first time in more than a year. She will spend the day walking around San Fransokyo, visit her favorite spots, and then end it by meeting up with her dad at SFIT when the showcase ended and surprise him with her new, healed self.

* * *

><p>Craving for some sweets, Abigail decided to head down to the popular Lucky Cat cafe only to find it closed.<p>

"That's odd, this place is usually opened at this hour of the day," she said. There was a sign on the door that says that owner has left to see and support her nephew entering the SFIT showcase. She pressed her face against the glass door and stared longingly at the shelves filled of untouched pastries.

"But I was in the mood for cat doughnuts," she groaned, pouting in mild disappointment. "Ohhh, I guess I could go for Tako Taco instead... This sucks..."

The day came by so fast, Abigail was having the best time of her life. There was so many places her legs can take her, she hadn't felt this alive for a long time. It was sundown that she decided to it was finally time to drop by the showcase.

As she strolled into the campus, she saw Krei and his secretary leaving the exhibition hall. She hid nearby so she can watch them; she didn't realize Krei would be here! Maybe he was here to look for the next "big thing" he could buy and mass-produce at Krei Tech. She the saw sharp-nosed entrepreneur frowning, as though someone had irritated him or refused to sell him something.

She thought about popping out of her hiding place and say hi to him but she stopped herself. Despite her bitter feelings towards Krei, she wanted to forgive him for his careless mistakes and faults; yet she felt hesitant of her decision.

_What if he's not interested to see me again?_ she thought and a small wave of sadness washed over her. _We used to be so close, but now he's like a stranger to me..._

Old, painful memories of her suffering during the past year alone-despite her father being there for he-came back, and she remembered how Krei almost ruined her life. Her hatred re-emerged and she found herself wishing she could strangle him.

She darkly watches Krei and his secretary leaving the campus but she continued to stay at her spot, to calm her senses. Minutes later, a small group of people walked out from the entrance doors and noticed the youngest of the group, a messy-haired Japanese boy (or he could be biracial, she thought, noticing his features) holding up what it appears to be a letter. She guess that this boy's invention must have won an admission to SFIT, since it's like one of the prizes at the showcase.

Remembering her plan, she crept around the back of the exhibition hall to find the exit. She knew her father so well, he would probably be handling some of the inventions that were accepted and moving them to a separate room in the back of the hall.

* * *

><p>She found the exit and entered. That's when she smelled smoke in the air and heard screaming in the distance. She quickly followed the sound down the hall, and ran into the main hall where a horrifying sight awaits her. The walls and floors were engulfed in huge flames, and smoke is beginning to fill up. She was about to escape when she saw someone in the distance, near one of the stages. She ran to person, avoiding the flames and keeping her body low to avoid inhaling smoke.<p>

She recognized him immediately.

"Dad!" she screamed.

"Abigail?" Callaghan turned around and his eyes wide when he saw who called him. He was wearing a strange metallic headband on his forehead. "Abigail, you're walking?"

"Dad, what are you doing here?" she demanded, her voiced filled with fear. "The whole place is burning up!"

Then a low beam collapsed from the ceiling it fell with a crash behind them. The beam had blocked their only exit. Abigail's heart hammered, panic rising inside her chest. How does this happened? She heard something else and a swarm of what looks like tiny robots dismantling what looks like a machine full of chemicals that was strapped up in the ceiling located far away from them and near the doors of the main lobby. Then the nanobots crawled down and moved towards Callaghan, as though they were controlled by him. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Dad, what are those?" she asked.

"These are microbots," he replied quickly. "This neurotransmitter I'm wearing controls them."

"What did you just do with them? Did you... " she stopped and brushed away her suspicions since there are more important things at hand. "Look, we have to get out of here!"

"You shouldn't even be here!" Callaghan shouted at her. He looked worried and, at the same time, outraged. "I'm not in even in danger!"

"What does that even mean?"

Just then, they heard a cry over the roaring, crackling flames.

_**"Tadashi! ... Tadashi!"**_

Callaghan's face turned pale as he saw Hiro Hamada coming out from a corner. The young teenaged boy was holding his brother's baseball cap.

"Professor Callaghan!" Hiro shouted, coughing from the smoke. "You're here! Have you seen Tadashi, he ran in here to find you!"

"You're that boy I saw earlier..." Abigail gasped.

Hiro's eyes widened when he saw his professor wearing the neurotransmitter and saw the swarm of microbots near his feet.

"Wait, those are my microbots!"

Callaghan then shot a hand forward and a pillar of microbots lunged forward and knocked Hiro against a wall, knocking him out. Abigail stared in shock.

"Dad, why did you that?!" she yelled. Her mind tried to process what she just saw.

"He saw too much," Callaghan said cruelly. "Let's go, we're leaving him."

Abigail heard another beam cracking above. She and Callaghan saw it ready to fall on top of Hiro's unconscious body; but the former dove in and grabbed Hiro away as the beam smashed in the floor. While Abigail checked to see if the boy was alive, Callaghan saw the flames burning the machine with chemicals. Thinking quickly, he used the microbots to form a spherical shield around Abigail and Hiro.

Then the bomb went off.

* * *

><p>After the explosion ended, Abigail was surprised to see the strength of the microbots had managed to save both of her and the boy. But her surprise was replaced with terror when she remembered her father used the microbots to save them. The microbot sphere began to fall away and Abigail's heart stopped when the entire main hall covered in flames nearly everything destroyed, debris scattered all over the room.<p>

She looked around for her father and saw his body under a huge pile of burning wood.

"Daddy!" she shrieked, distraught and panicking. She ran to his side and tried to lift the wood off him but her hands got burned. She winced in pain, feeling herself ready to cry.

"Abigail..." Callaghan wheezed, coughing heavily from the smoke. "Get out of here, save yourself..."

_"S-shut up, I'm not leaving you here!"_ Abigail shouted. Her tears kept falling, her body shaking violently as she tried to control herself. _"We're going home together, you're my only family left!"_

Callaghan just gave her a regretful smile and used his remaining strength to remove the neurotransmitter band from his hand dropped it on her burned hands.

"You are truly... the greatest joy a father could ever had," he whispered. Then his head went limp and he closed his eyes.

Professor Robert Callaghan never breathed again.

Abigail's anguished wails were drowned out by the flames.

* * *

><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>


	13. I Am (not) Satisfied With My Care

**Chapter Summary:** An enraged Tadashi tries to go after Abigail and it ends with tragic results.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

* * *

><p>Abigail took deep breathes to calm herself and continued as though nothing had happened.<p>

"My father died in the fire he started at the showcase, but I used the microbots to escape from there," she told Tadashi. She remembered coming home after the fire and discovering what her dad had been doing in their basement. "... Afterwards, I became a criminal so I can carry out my father's last wish."

"I don't know exactly what you're trying to do, but it's over for you," Tadashi said. He's still holding the Kabuki mask which contained the neurotransmitter to control the microbots.

Abigail looked at him with a strange, dark smile on her face. She began to chuckle.

"Your brother was right, you do act like some big-shot hero."

Her words took Tadashi by surprise. Even his friends were confused as they watched from a distance.

"Y-you know my brother Hiro?" he inquired. He vaguely remembered Callaghan mentioning his daughter being a botfighter to Hiro.

"Jeez, for a nerd who goes to nerd school, you are pretty stupid," Abigail snorted, rolling her eyes. She seemed to relish on the young man's reaction. "I'm not the only one who survived the explosion. Who do you think was helping me build more microbots?"

Tadashi stopped breathing and all his senses turned numb. He wondered if he was hearing things but Abigail's expression confirmed it.

"You mean... Hiro is still alive?" he asked, choking up. A tear roll down his face. His kid brother, who he thought died in the fire, was still alive and was probably waiting for Tadashi to rescue him.

"Yeah, I saved him too before I kidnapped."

Then, Abigail shook her head. "However, he died not so long. Died from a broken heart because you weren't able to find him in time."

Her hand reached deep inside into her trench coat and pulled out a familiar baseball cap, and it landed in front of Tadashi's feet.

"Your brother was holding on to it, even to his last breath," she told him. Her voice, despite sweet to the ears, was laced with malice. "You should have hear him begging for you to save him." Then she began to put on a mocking, boyish voice and placed the back of her hand against her forehead, pretending to act like a distressed person. "Tadashi, where are you? Tadashi, you said you're not giving up on me. Tadashiiii..."

Tadashi felt as though he was fall into a dark abyss. His body began to tremble and he was seeing red. An inhuman cry escaped from his throat. He dropped the mask and hurl himself at Abigail, pushing her violently against a wall and his hands clutching her shoulders in a claw-like grip.

"Tadashi, no!" Wasabi screeched. He and the others rushed over to him.

"You're lying to me! Tell me where my brother is!" Tadashi yelled at Abigail. Hatred began to burn inside him, he couldn't think straight. His pulls back one hand and his glove began to emit electrical sparks. "You have ten seconds to let me know where he is or I'll fry your face off!"

Abigail wasn't intimidated. "Go ahead," she egged him on. "But it'll never bring the dead back anyway."

Enraged, Tadashi was about to land a deadly blow when one of Gogo's discs hit his hand, breaking the electrical glove. Then he was pulled back by Wasabi and Fred while Abigail quickly ran away before anyone grabbed her.

"Let me go! This is personal!" Tadashi screamed at them, struggling to pull away.

"Tadashi, this isn't what we signed up!" Fred protested.

"SHE KILLED MY BROTHER!"

Gogo and Honey tried to go after Abigail before the criminal can reach for her Kabuki mask. However, Abigail took out a metallic bomb and threw it at ground near the superhero team's feet.

"Look out!" Gogo yelled as she and Honey tried to push the others away from the bomb.

It detonated and giant flash of light blinded the group.

"This is a flash bomb!" Honey yelled.

Abigail immediately grabbed her mask and put it on. She felt the microbots gathering around her and lifted her away further from the group when the flashing light died down. Tadashi tried to adjust his eyes but he thought he saw Abigail getting away. He cannot allow that. While Wasabi and Fred tried to control him, Tadashi noticed Abigail tearing a piece of giant concrete from the walls and tossed it towards the group. They were trapped in a corner and there's nowhere else to escape. They're going to be crushed!

Everyone braced for the impact when Baymax flew in front of them and used his armored body to protect the team. Abigail snarled behind her mask and used her microbots to form a giant drill-spear. She will not leave until these meddling kids are completely gone for good.

The spear tried to pierce the group, but Baymax blocked the attack with his body. The microbot-spear began drilling into Baymax's body, trying to tear into his carbon-fiber armor. Yet the caregiver bot did not budge yet the spear kept slowly pushing him further back. The others huddled together in the corner, watching this suspenseful moment.

"What do we do now?' Wasabi demanded.

"We're trapped, and we're gonna die anyway if we stay here any longer!" Fred said. "And I can't use my super-jump when you're all too close to me."

"Baymax, move! You're going to get killed if you keep this up!" Tadashi yelled at his robot.

"If I move, you and everyone else will be in harm's way," Baymax replied. He continued to talk as the spear kept hitting and drilling into his body. "When I saw you fighting so hard to save and protect people, I finally understood the purpose you built me. I am so glad to be fighting alongside with you. You are not just my patient anymore, Tadashi... You are my friend."

Tadashi stared at his robot, feeling his chest swell with love and pride for his robot. Even though Tadashi pushed everyone away or put them in trouble, Baymax continued to stand by him.

_Thank you for helping me,_ Baymax, he thought. _Now it's my turn to help you._

Tadashi quickly racked his brains, pushing away his anger aside for now; he has to save his friends before Abigail can destroy them. He then remembered the special trigger he installed in Baymax's fighting chip that would activate his "defense mode", at least according to his theory. Except, he was unable to test it yet to see if it would have faulty effects, but he had no other choice.

"Baymax... Help!" He shouted out the trigger.

Baymax suddenly froze up as his fighting programming took over. His eyes then turned red. He opened his wings and rocket forward while the others were knocked back by the powerful force. Abigail was stunned to see the flying robot breaking through her spear and before she could defend herself, Baymax grabbed her body and threw her against the wall, causing a minor crater on the impact.

Abigail fell to the floor, her body hurt all over. She touched her face and realized her Kabuki mask is gone. She saw it lying several feet away and before she could reach it, Baymax landed on top of it, his foot snapping it in half.

"No!" Abigail shouted. However, her anger was replaced with fear when she saw Baymax silently approaching her, swinging his hands by his side. She realized what's happening and she tried to crawl away backwards. "N-no, get away from me!"

"Baymax...?" Tadashi said, staring in shock. He didn't program his to act like that.

He broke away from the others and ran towards his robot. "Baymax, stop! You weren't programmed to harm people!"

Baymax turned to face Tadashi. Then he stopped chasing Abigail and moved towards his creator. Then without warning, he used a fist and smacked Tadashi away. The inventor landed on the smile piles of microbts, groaning loudly in pain. He looked up to see his friends trying to stop Baymax, but the robot didn't seem to recognize them and he keeps trying to attack them.

Honey kept throwing her chem-balls at Baymax's lower body, but the robot kept breaking through the hardening foam. Wasabi and Fred tried to hold down Baymax's arms but they were tossed around like ragdolls. Gogo kept trying to open Baymax's access portal so she could remove the fighting chip, but it was jammed shut.

"Baymax, we're not your enemies!" Honey shouted desperately. "Please, stop!"

Tadashi remained frozen in spot and continue to stare in horror. He wondered if the trigger installed in the fighting chip had unintentionally corrupted Baymax into becoming a ruthless, fighting machine. He didn't want that to happened, he wanted Baymax to heal and protect people!

"What have I done..." he gasped, feeling horrified for violating his robot and his original programming.

He saw Abigail running oddly around the room, trying to avoid getting hit or captured by the rampaging Baymax. She seems to be dropping something on the floor. She then ran towards the huge hole of wall before she stopped. She looked back into the lab room and pulled out a small device with a button on it. Tadashi finally realized what she was doing earlier. Before he can alert the other, she pressed the button. Thunderous explosions went off around the giant lab, the walls and floors destroyed in fire and dust. Wasabi, Gogo, Honey and Fred were thrown to the floor; luckily they all survived but they were moving in pain. Abigail, smug about her quick-thinking, quickly disappeared.

Baymax was about to go after Abigail when the floor below him exploded as well and the ceiling fell on top of him.

"BAYMAX!" Tadashi screamed and ran to where his robot is.

He leaped over debris, avoided the flames that made him feel queasy in his stomach, until he stopped dead when he saw Baymax's unmoving body lying on the floor covered in wood and cement. His armor was destroyed from the explosion and it had broken away, revealing his original soft body which had been damaged too; the inflatable vinyl skin is deflated and in tatters, some areas which are away in some areas burnt. Even the metallic skeleton was bent out of shape.

Tadashi noticed the access portal was burnt but he pressed it until it finally opened. He tossed out the fighting chip; it landed in a fire nearby and melted away. The inventor could feel his heart shattering seeing his robot's broken body. His friends were back on their feet and gathered around him.

Tadashi stared at the half-burnt nursechip in the cartridge. He pushed the green chip back into the access portal.

He muttered a low sound to activate his robot. "Ow..."

Baymax didn't move or wake up. He remained lifeless.

"Ow," Tadashi repeated, this time louder.

Again no response.

Tadashi began screaming "Ow" all over again while his tears began to pour out. He felt Honey's hand on his back and he broke down crying.

"Tadashi, we're so sorry..." Honey said sadly.

Gogo suddenly placed something on Tadashi's hand. It was the broken half of the Kabuki mask and the neurotransmitter remained intact.

"You might not want anything to do with this, but at least you finally got your brother's invention back," she said.

Then they heard explosions somewhere in the building and the whole room began to shake. It appears Abigail had rigged more explosions and decided to bury them. Even the fire is starting to spread.

"We have to go," Wasabi said.

Fred tried to pull Tadashi away from Baymax's body.

"Tadashi, we have to get to safety," Fred said in a broken voice. "B-Baymax would have wanted you to live. So, please... Do this for him!"

Tadashi was stopped crying and nodded. Quickly, he opened Baymax's access portal again and glanced at robot face one last time.

He wanted to Baymax to continue help many people, but now it seemed the robot would never do it.

He bent down and kissed his robot's head.

"I... I'm satisfied with my care," he whispered to Baymax.

Everyone ran towards the exit when they heard the ceiling cracking and it began to fall on them. Tadashi put on the mask and the microbots formed a shield to protect everyone. Everything was buried in minutes.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Krei's secretary was sitting in her car in the shadows of an alleyway, just a few blocks away from the building and watch it collapse from her rear-view window. Faint sounds of police sirens was heard in the distance. Then someone entered in the passenger's seat.<p>

"You went overboard," she remarked, scolding Abigail lightly.

"That building was going to be demolished anyway," Abigail said. "And I need to find a way to make sure they won't survive this time."

"So, that's why you didn't kill Hamada immediately when he broke into your home," the secretary said as she drive away from the alley. "You wanted to see who else survived and lured them to a trap."

Abigail nodded. She then hissed and clutched her side.

"That stupid robot of theirs almost killed me. And he destroyed the neurotransmitter."

"That's a shame," the secretary commented. "We still have the rest of the microbots waiting for us, but our only neurotransmitter to control them is gone. How are we going to proceed with the plan without the microbots?"

"We don't need microbots, I have a back-up plan," Abigail said.

"You have what?"

"Drive us to the warehouse. It's still there."

* * *

><p>Right after the dust and smoke cleared, the microbots broke through the fallen rubble and everyone climbed out. They were covered in dust and their suits a little damaged, but they were safe and unharmed. Except now they were missing their sixth member.<p>

"Hiro's invention saved us," Tadashi said in a hollow voice as he removed the mask from his face. He felt so empty inside.

"Tadashi, will you be okay?" Wasabi asked.

Tadashi looked down at Baymax's burnt nurse-chip but he said nothing.

Everyone then left the site immediately before the police came. Tadashi placed all the remaining microbots inside some plastic, garbage bins and kept them in the garage where they belong with Hiro's computers. Never again they will be used for evil purposes. As for the Kabuki mask, he hid it somewhere Hiro's room so he wouldn't have to look at it and be reminded of costs that were made.

While he did retrieve the microbots and everyone else was alive, Abigail still escaped, his brother is dead, and Baymax is accidentally killed after being corrupted by some possible glitch or virus in the fighting chip.

Big Hero 6's first mission seemed liked it ended in failure.

* * *

><p>Abigail and Krei's secretary walked to the back of the warehouse. The secretary is confused about what Abigail is going to show her. They entered a room and she gasped when she saw lying in the corner.<p>

"Oh, this must be your first time seeing it," Abigail said slyly as she walked over to the huge robot. "This came through the same portal when I was rescued. Nobody knew where it came from, not even Krei. Now you understand why I want you to ask Tadashi Hamada where he got the idea to build his robot?"

"What are you planning to do with it?" the secretary demanded in a low, terrified voice.

"You'll see," Abigail said as she pulled out a huge toolbox and set down on a nearby table. "Not many people know this, but I was a former botfighter."

The secretary just continued staring at the white, marshmallow-like robot Baymax. He seemed to be deactivated and he wearing what looks like broken pieces of red armor.

* * *

><p>The next few days, Tadashi could not leave his home except on nights he patrolled around San Fransokyo with the team. He couldn't bring himself out of the bed as he fell into depression. He couldn't explain to Aunt Cass about what exactly happened, though she kept asking about Baymax's whereabouts. His friends continued to visit him and tried to support him, and but their words of comfort did not help him.<p>

He missed Baymax and he realized that without his caregiver bot, Tadashi's health and mind is slowly declining.

While Big Hero 6 continued their superhero duties, it wasn't the same without their robot friend. Tadashi couldn't concentrate on fighting random criminals and he keeps getting distracted. The others tried to tell him to stay home and they'll do the job without him. However, Tadashi stubbornly pushed himself to fight because he was still determined to protect as many people as he can. His friends are beginning to worry for Tadashi, and they're afraid of losing him too.

One night, it was raining over at San Fransokyo. Fred had invited Tadashi over at his mansion (after much persuasion to get him out of the house) so they can have a two-person party before the two go out to patrol the city. Gogo, Wasabi, and Honey couldn't come tonight since they're all busy in their part-time jobs.

Tadashi sat on the couch while Fred ate most of the pizza and show off his favorite comics; the school mascot was trying get Tadashi to talk about his feelings.

"Baymax and Hiro would have love this one," Fred said as he showed a cover of a boy riding on dragon-like beast, and he's surrounded by five other people. "The first issue of Super Samurai 7! It's about a group of people are assigned to protect their country from the villainous spectre Everwraith. This comic sort of reminds us in a way, it's so cool."

"That sounds interesting, Fred," Tadashi said quietly. His face was blank and heavy, as though he was exhausted.

The school mascot suddenly picked up a manga book which has a picture of a magical girl on the cover.

"I've been trying to find a gift for Honey's birthday and I heard from Gogo that she likes manga," Fred said. He looked dreamily at the cover. "Do you think she will like this? I mean, you know I how I used to have a sorta crush on her... Hang on, I still do~!"

He chuckled, shaking his head. Remembering how Honey kissed him on the cheek that night at the old Krei Tech lab made him blush. "To be honest, there's also someone else I liked..."

Tadashi shrugged, not paying attention. However, hearing Gogo's name made him wish he was with her at her place. He missed talking to her and he felt terrible for almost getting her killed thanks to his reckless actions.

Fred puts down the comic and sat closer to his friend. He gently takes his hand, their fingers interlocking.

"Tadashi, we missed them both," he said. "I may not know them as much as you do, but that doesn't mean they weren't important to me and the rest of our pals. And we'll always be here for you, amigo."

Fred paused and he looked away, blushing a little. "You know," he continued. "If I had one superpower right now, I would give you a big hug to remove all your pain and every tragedy in your life."

Tadashi was then reminded of an old conversation he and Fred shared back in the garage.

"Hey, Fred, there's something that has been bothering me," he said. Fred's face lit up and leaned forward, giving Tadashi his full attention. "Why do most superhero origin stories have protagonists mature or become heroes only when they receive some sorta of personal tragedy? They don't need some trauma to push them into becoming heroes. And what if they don't become heroes, but villains instead? It feels like a whole pile of baloney that you need to mature if something bad happens to you."

Fred became quiet as he tried to think of a good answer to this one.

"Well, people who suffered a lot become superheroes because they don't want others to suffer the same thing too," he explained carefully. "That's why they're burden with a lot of responsibilities. And if they're not careful, they might slowly become the very villains they swore to fight."

Tadashi fall silent but he was still not convinced of Fred's explanation. He lost his parents at a young age, his brother and his robot died because of his reckless actions. How much more tragedies does he have to suffer, it isn't fair at all. He thought of Abigail again and he wished he could have still stopped her when he had the chance.

"Besides, Baymax isn't really gone," Fred piped up, trying to sound hopeful. "You still got his nursechip! You can rebuild his body, put in the nursechip, and-VOILA! Baymax is back in business!"

"You don't understand, Fred," Tadashi said. "Yes, Baymax's personality is in the chip, but it got damaged in that explosion. Even if I rebuild him, all of Baymax's quirks and data inside the chip are probably ruined and it can't be processed in the new shell. Baymax... is gone for good."

He stood up and picked up his helmet from Fred's bed.

"Better put on your suit. We'll be ready to leave soon," he told Fred.

He didn't care that it was pouring outside, he wanted to some time to think while he hunts some criminals. He felt Fred's arms wrapped tight around his body from behind, and he was pulled into a hug. He remembered how Baymax was telling him how hugging gives compassion and physical reassurance when one is going through personal loss. Tadashi found himself crying about Baymax and Hiro again.

"Why are so you nice to me?" he asked Fred through his sobs. "I don't deserve such kindess after what I've did. I couldn't protect or save the people who are precious to me."

Fred allowed Tadashi to cry, and just continued hugging him.

"You know, ever since the night Baymax is gone... I regretted running into the exhibition hall to save Professor Callaghan," Tadashi whimpered. "If I hadn't, Hiro wouldn't have run in to find me... He's gone because I was an idiot. It's my fault...!"

* * *

><p>It continued to rain heavily while two figures ran and leaped on the rooftops of of the city. Tadashi and Fred were chasing a huge man who just mugged a couple and they cornered him to an alleyway. The criminal doesn't seem like he's going to give up with out a fight. He held up a knife and tried to stab at one of the two superheroes. The blade barely sunk into Fred's suit and the comic fanboy strike the mugger down with his tail in retaliation. Tadashi, however, tackled the man and began punching him. How dare this scum try to kill his friend! Tadashi could feel his rage reaching a boiling point as he continued pummeling the man's face, and venting other frustrations on him.<p>

"That's enough, you don't have to go too far!" Fred said as he pulled Tadashi off him. Then the two heard the police sirens and they disappeared quickly.

Tadashi leaped on top of a nearby building using his cable wires and glared at Fred through the thick rain. He removed his helmet and threw it at his friend.

"Why did you stop me, he almost killed you!" he shouted.

Fred removed the headgear of suit, letting the rain fall on his head and face. "Tadashi, I know you're upset but hurting people won't heal the pain," he begged.

"Don't tell me how I should feel, you're not Baymax!" Tadashi growled.

The school mascot winced at these harsh words but he approached closer to the inventor, his face inches away him.

"Alright, I'm not Baymax. But I'm still your friend who's not going to give up on you."

Tadashi thought Fred was going to hug him again. He turned around and muttered in a cold voice, "I'm going home. Don't follow me." He then ran off, leaving a heartbroken Fred behind.

* * *

><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>

**Notes: **I APOLOGIZE FOR ENDING MY CHAPTER LIKE THIS. As well as killing off Baymax in a brutal way. Now you're possibly thinking about where the second Baymax came from... I think you can figure that yourselves. And also, is Hiro really dead or is Abigail lying?


	14. Dying Alone on Top of the World

**Summary: **Tadashi's desire to help people becomes questioned as he continues to spiral further into despair.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Big Hero 6 and its characters.

* * *

><p>Tadashi finally stopped running until he came to a secluded area in a dark, narrow alley. He let the icy raindrops fall on his head as he leaned against a wall to catch his breath. He felt disgusted with himself for shouting at Fred and leaving him behind when the school mascot was trying to help him.<p>

"Unbelievable... Why did I say those things?" he muttered, his heart filled with shame and anger. "Why can't I do anything right for once... I'm such an idiot!"

For the first time since the night he lost his robot, Tadashi wished Baymax was here to help him. He's been so used taking care of people, he never experienced being taken care of until Baymax came along. Now he felt so alone and helpless tonight.

He didn't know how long he stayed in that position but he then heard a couple of voices talking nearby. They seem to be coming from around the alley. Tadashi aimlessly followed the sound, his feet felt heavy like cement.

Around the corner and standing under a dry spot outside the back what looks like a restaurant, are the Banzai Brothers exchanging money and talking to what Tadashi recognized to be the older cousin of that Yasuo boy he rescued from a botfight a long time ago.

He stayed hidden in the shadows as he listened to their conversation.

"... So every time he wins a botfight, he gives all the cash to me," Yuan snickered.

"Are you really that okay with us landing your cousin in the hospital?" the older Banzai Brother asked, raising an amused eyebrow. "You should have seen how twisted his arm looked after we broke it."

"Hey, he keeps annoying me about how much he wants to see this Hiro Hamada kid from his school," Yuan shrugged.

"Speaking of which, what ever happened to that Hamada boy?" the younger Banzai brother asked as he began smoking a cigarette. "We haven't heard of him for a long time now. Do you think he stopped trying to hustle the other botfighters?"

"Haven't you read the newspapers weeks ago?" Yuan snorted. "He died in some fire accident at this college campus. Bet he went up in flames like his botfighting career."

"He deserved it!" the younger Banzai Brother laughed. "Little brats like him need to be taught a lesson."

"Excuse me."

The three men turned to see Tadashi approaching them; they were curious about why he's wearing such colorful armor. A dark shadow came over the inventor's face.

"Why would you treat a dead person with such disrespect?" Tadashi demanded. Then he turns to Yuan in a low voice. "And this cousin of yours... He obviously sees you as someone important to him, yet you don't care how much he gets hurt as long he gives you his winnings?"

"You have no damn business coming in here to tell us how we should treat people," the older Banzai brother growled. "Who do you think you are?"

Tadashi ignored him as he let dark thoughts clouding his heart. His electrical glove began to spark dangerously which made Yuan and the Banzai Brothers uneasy.

"Hey, do you think some lives are worth helping after all...?" he asked them in a strange tone. His eyes seemed lifeless and cold. "You better speak up now and tell me what I'm fighting for."

The lightning flashed and thunder clapped over their heads while Tadashi ominously waited for their answer.

* * *

><p>The following morning, the rain stopped falling but the sky was still cloudy and grey. Gogo, Wasabi, Honey and Fred went to visit Tadashi at his home before they head to SFIT but to their shock, Aunt Cass told them that her nephew had not came home yesterday.<p>

"I tried to reach him but he left his cellphone before!" Cass cried. She was starting to panic, fearing the worst that happened to her missing nephew. "I don't know what's happening to him-His health was improving and he was starting to act like his old self again. Now, he suddenly collapsed back into depression! I haven't called the police yet but I'm still scared..."

Honey placed a comforting, gentle hand on the older woman's shoulder.

"We'll find him and bring him back to you," Honey told her softly. "Tadashi's our best friend."

Aunt Cass sniffled and wiped away her tears.

"Just bring him home safe," she said, putting on a tiny smile. "And give him a good knuckle sandwich for worrying his auntie."

"We'll do that," Wasabi chuckled.

Gogo noticed from the corner of his eye that Fred wasn't smiling or acting upbeat like his usual. He was even acting strange earlier when the group decided to drop by the Lucky Cat cafe.

"I do have a question. Whatever happened to Baymax?" she asked curiously. "I haven't seen the big cutie in days."

The group fell into awkward silence; they couldn't bring themselves to tell them what happened to the robot. However, Wasabi acted fast.

"Oh, we took him back to SFIT for a presentation of some final robotics project!" he explained. He felt queasy telling a lie, but Aunt Cass bought it. Her smile became wider and more hopeful.

"Ah, so I guess that's where Tadashi is! Probably spend the night over at the school," she said. She shook her head but she was slowly feeling relieved. "Well, you better make sure he comes home tonight when you see him!"

When the group left the cafe, they walked around and saw the garage door halfway open. Wasabi opened the door fully. The inventor was nowhere to be found and the bins full of Hiro's microbots were in their place as usual. Honey poked around until she urgently called the others over. Everyone found Tadashi's red carbon-fiber armor, emitting the faint smell of rain, lying in a puddle of water behind the bins.

"So he was actually here earlier but he left home again without letting his aunt know," Wasabi said.

After everyone else left the garage, he closed down the door. The group walked further down until they came to a parking where Wasabi's new van and Gogo's bike are waiting for them.

"Where do you think Tadashi went off to?" Honey asked nervously. "You don't supposed something terrible has happened to him?"

"This is Tadashi-he survived near-death experiences and all kinds of danger," Wasabi muttered. "He probably went back to destroyed Krei Tech facility to dig up some remains of Baymax so he could rebuild him."

"I don't that's possible," Gogo frowned, popping her gum. "I've been keeping tabs of the newspaper. The police did some investigation of the building and they claimed most stuff buried under the rubble are completely destroyed."

The purple-streaked girl then pointed at Fred's direction. "But I think I know who was the last person who saw Tadashi last night."

Fred stammered, "I d-don't know where he went! We did our usual patrol and criminal-hunting as usual, he said he wanted to go home and told me not to follow him!"

"There's something you're not telling us," Gogo demanded.

Fred become reluctant but he caved in and told the others of Tadashi's scary behavior last night. The others were left stunned when the school mascot finished.

"That idiot..." Gogo grumbled.

"What do we do now?" Honey asked. "Should we go out and find him?"

"We can't skip class!" Wasabi protested.

Gogo then jumped into her bike-a normal one, not the school project version she made at the university-and turned to the others.

"I'll go find him instead since I'm faster and know my way around the city," she said. "You three go on ahead to SFIT, make some excuses about my absence."

Before the others could stop her, Gogo was already speeding down the street.

* * *

><p><strong>Nine Years Ago.<strong>

"Tadashi."

Five-year-old Hiro walked into Tadashi's side of the room. The little boy thought he heard his older brother crying and he came over to investigate.

"Hiro?" Tadashi's head perked up. He quickly wiped his snotty nose with the sleeve of his shirt. "I thought you were taking a nap."

The young boy was lying curled up in his bed; he had been crying after fully realizing he and Hiro's parents are dead and they're not coming back. Tadashi could feel his heart being crushed ever since the two-year anniversary of their deaths had passed. Despite now living with Aunt Cass, Tadashi is worried about a future without his parents to guide him.

Hiro didn't seem to understand why his big brother is crying. However, he gave Tadashi a huge smile and climbed onto his bed to give him a hug.

"Nii-chan, no crying," Hiro said cheerfully as he rubbed Tadashi's head. "Let's play."

Tadashi hiccuped his sobs but just looking at that tiny, happy face reminded him that he didn't lose Hiro too. He promised his parents he will look after his brother, and he's not going to give up on their promise.

The boy sat up and wiped his eyes dry.

"Okay, Hiro," he said. "What do you want to do you?"

Hiro squealed happily and jumped off the bed. He left his brother's side and came back carrying a box full of parts to build a toy.

"Can you teach me how to build a robot?" he asked excitedly.

* * *

><p><strong>Current Day.<strong>

Tadashi silently stood in front of Hiro's grave, holding Megabot in one hand. He couldn't remember what exactly happened last night but he felt so tired and his body was ready to fall apart in broken pieces.

"Hey, Hiro," he said, staring at his brother's name. He wondered if Hiro is listening to him right now. "I'm sorry for not stopping by to see you sooner. I had a lot of things on my mind."

He then holds up the battlebot in front of the grave. He tries to put on a cheerful smile. "I brought Megabot with me. I think he misses all those times you two won in botfighting."

He became quiet again. He saw Hiro standing before him, arms crossed and a cocky smirk on his face. Tadashi's heart filled despair and legs ready to give out.

"Hiro," he began. His throat felt as though there's a stiff limp preventing him to speak. "I'm sorry that I couldn't find you or save you. I promised Mom and Dad I'd looked after you, but I didn't..." He finally fell on his knees and let the hot tears fall down his face. "It's my fault you're gone... It's my fault."

He heard someone approaching him from behind and felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked up to see Gogo looking down at him. She was panting as though she'd been speeding on her bike, but she looked relieved to see him.

"So, this is where you've been," she said. "You owed your aunt an apology. She was so worried about you, she didn't know where you went."

"Oh, right..." Tadashi run a hand over his face. "Sorry, I wasn't myself last night..."

"No, kidding. Fred told me and the others about the way you treated him at your last last patrol," she said stiffly, crossing her arms. "You can be so cruel, you know. Sorry if I sound harsh, but it's the truth. We can't always be walking on eggshells and waiting for you to explode on us."

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Her eyes softened in sadness. "You're our friend, Tadashi. You may try to push us away, but I don't think Baymax or Hiro would ever forgive us if we abandoned you now."

Hearing her words made Tadashi recall the night he and the others formed a superhero team to track down the masked man together. It was supposed to a moment where everything will go right for him; yet, Baymax is gone, Abigail isn't caught, and the one responsible for the fire is dead.

"Do you remember our promise that night?" she asked.

* * *

><p><em>After explaining to the others about the video of Silent Sparrow he found back in Professor Callaghan's home on the same night they lost their robot friend, Tadashi still wanted to track down the criminal but the others stopped him since Abigail is now defenseless without her microbots and won't be going after them. <em>

_"But she's still out there!" he angrily told them, clutching the broken half of the Kabuki mask. "She could still attack innocent people! If you don't want to help me catch her, fine! But she still destroyed Baymax!"_

_Gogo suddenly came forward and slapped him across the face to shut him up much to the shock of the others. Tadashi was stunned for one moment; before he could say anything, Gogo pulled him into a big hug and Tadashi felt his body becoming warm and light. He felt safe in her arms and he found himself wishing he could melt into her._

_"We'll continue patrolling the city as usual," she told him. "When we find Abigail next time, we're going to catch her and make it right."_

_She pulled back so she can glare at him with a pain expression. "So... stop being a reckless idiot. I don't want to see you end up dead."_

_Hearing how he's so important to Gogo made Tadashi's chest swell with fondness and his pain less hurt for a brief moment. _

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><p>Gogo grabbed Tadashi by his arm and pulled him to his feet.<p>

"C'mon, let's get you home," she said to him gently.

After enduring an earful punishment from Aunt Cass, Tadashi led Gogo up to his room so the two could talk more. The woman leaned against the inventor's desk while Tadashi sat on his bed. The two of them haven't spoke since they first entered the room, yet Gogo is in no hurry into making her friend talk. Tadashi struggled to find his words but it was so hard to concentrate when the girl he had his eyes one had found him at his weakest, lowest moment.

"This is the second time you left our friends to find me," he finally spoke up. He could feel his cheeks burning. "You got to stop doing that."

"If I don't, you'll probably wind up somewhere dead," Gogo replied, looking away from him. "Besides, I promised your aunt I'd look after you.

Tadashi chuckled a little before he continued.

"Gogo, can you be honest with me?" he asked hesitantly.

"I'm always honest," she said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. But are you willing to be honest with yourself? she thought.

"Everything I did for the past couple of weeks: upgrading Baymax, you, and everyone else... Fighting so hard to stop criminals and catch Abigail... Is it really worth it?"

"I think the better question is... Why exactly did you build Baymax for?" Gogo asked him.

Tadashi was taken aback by her words. "What do you mean?"

"I thought so," Gogo sighed. She was wearing a blank expression but what Tadashi's reactions confirmed her suspicions. "You're not really trying to help people."

"What does that have to do with that question you asked me earlier?" Tadashi demanded. He was getting angry again but Gogo went on.

"You built Baymax so _he_ could help people," she told him. "But he was programmed with the skills to do his job. Skills that you lacked... You're basically extending your fantasy to help others because you feel you're not good enough to do it yourself. The night when you formed Big Hero 6 at Fred's home, you told us that you're not strong enough to protect all of us. You repeatedly pushed us away and refused our help, despite knowing the dangers of catching a criminal. If people involved with you die, it would ruin your 'golden boy' image that you've built up years trying to please everybody."

"You're wrong, I would never..." Tadashi stammered.

"Tadashi, you were in a hurry to save Callaghan from the fire that you never thought of the consequences of your reckless actions," Gogo pressed on without stopping. "You never thought about how Hiro would act, or how your aunt and friends would feel if the worse happened to you. You could have at least had asked some people nearby to help you find the professor but you immediately ran in. A truly selfless person would have at least hesitate instead of just blinding jumping into danger... You went through so much lengths to help people that you want to prove to them that you're a good person who'd literally die for the sake of others, because you want to be seen as someone special."

Tadashi stood up and his fist slammed his desk hard, the vibrations nearly knocking his lamp over. Gogo kept a cool expression.

"... Unless I'm reading too much into this, so I'm sorry for accusing you for such things," she said. She did sounded truly sorry.

However, Tadashi shook his head.

"No, you're right," he said weakly. He was wearing a strange, sad smile. "Everything I did to build Baymax to help people, form this team, and me being a good person... it's because I wanted to be needed by anyone and redeem my failures for not helping people sooner. That's why I'd rather be the person who gets hurt then letting others get hurt."

He thought back all those times he saw people standing by the side and not offering their hand to help people who are in danger; he couldn't allow himself to be that kind of person. He wanted to be a hero and a nurturer, even going so far to willingly sacrifice his health and personal needs while putting others before him. But after what happened last night, he felt like he doesn't deserve to protect San Fransokyo anymore.

"Okay, you may have a mild chronic martyr complex," Gogo shrugged. A reddish tint of blush appeared on her cheeks and she shyly scratched her face with a finger. "But the reason I became your friend and helped form Big Hero 6... is because I was inspired by you."

Tadashi looked at her with genuine surprise.

"You didn't have to prove that you're a kind, selfless person because you're already are," she said. "Seeing you acting like a hero for your brother and then for San Fransokyo, willingly ready to save the day from crime, and never asking anything in return... It may sound corny on Fred's comic book levels, but that's what I like about you. And when you began smiling less since Hiro died, it hurts my heart to see you become an empty shell of your former self. I wanted to see the Tadashi Hamada who inspires people to look for solutions in a different angle again."

Tadashi slowly approached until he was standing in front of her. He took her hands into his; it felt so warmth in his touch. He and Gogo stared deeply into each other's eyes.

"I'm still the same guy," he told her, closing his eyes. Then he lowered his head and locked his lips against hers.

He could taste the gum on her soft lips, and inside her mouth...

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><p>Later that afternoon, Tadashi called everyone else to the garage where he had an important announcement to tell them. The others are glad to see Tadashi is found alive and safe, but they were surprised when they learned it didn't take Gogo a long time to find him since she had a hunch that the robotics student would be hanging around Hiro's grave.<p>

"So, you already found him but didn't tell us about it earlier?" Wasabi asked Gogo. "What have you two been doing all day?"

Gogo didn't saying anything and just popped her bubblegum, but her face turned red. She quickly moved away from Wasabi so she could stand next to Honey.

"Before I start, I want to apologize for my behavior last night, Fred," Tadashi began.

Fred grinned and wrapped an arm around his friend's neck. He seemed to bounced back to his usual, cheerful self.

"It's all in the past!" he said. "So, is this gonna take long, cuz I'm itchin' to take down more criminals soon!"

"That's the thing, Fred," Tadashi said. He took a deep breathe and sighed. His face showed a hint of regret. "I'm going to disband Big Hero 6."

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><p><strong>Leave some reviews~<strong>

**Notes: **Sorry this took forever to update! I've been busy getting work and I came down with a nasty cold. _ A few characters from chapter 6 have returned briefly here~

So yeah, this chapter pretty explains Tadashi's reason and urge to help people because he desperately NEEDS to be wanted, so he builds up the image that he's a kind, selfless person to hide his insecurities and weaknesses, and also his guilt for not being able to help and save people important to him (his parents, Hiro, Baymax, etc). This boy needs a hug. Hmm, but what did he do to those three people and is he really okay? And would he really disband Big Hero 6 even though Abigail is still out there?

BTW, since I'll be working soon, chapter updates might be weekly instead, but we shall see.


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